Busy Buddha Buddy

We’re shy of celebrating our one year anniversary by two months. It was love at first sight. I found him at a New Age conference in Rockville, Maryland, having gone there to look for incense, since Rockville doesn’t sell incense, and they had no incense either! Not really. (Maybe it’s taboo in Rockville?). However, there were a few exhibitors there who had Eastern Art.

Initially, I spotted a large wooden Buddha and I thought … We need to be together. We belong together. Luckily, I could afford him and I bought him on the spot. They graciously held him while I browsed the conference exhibits in the other room, and would pick him up on my way out.

Having found only one table that sold incense that was disagreeable to my sense of smell, I wandered around with a couple of friends, before I determined it was time to go. It was then, in the outer hall, that I began to browse a table filled with small objects, that I saw him. He was a pale shade of green (my favorite) jade. I picked him up, held him in my palm, looked at him closely, rubbed the texture of his face with my other hand. I was hopelessly in love, stricken. We were meant to be together.

And he was portable!
He would always be with me.

Soon afterwards, we traveled across the country, from coast to coast, and back again, in the Smart. We wrestled steep inclines in Arizona, Utah and Colorado together. We saw the flat Plains of Nebraska and Iowa together. We paused in Chicago for a month, before heading back to Baltimore, where I would live.

He was always with me.

But once we settled in Baltimore, he became mischievous. He began to play Hide ‘n Seek with me. Usually he slept with me, either next to my pillow, or clutched in my palm.

But on our many errands together, he began to hide.

Was he in the pocket of my coat?
No.
Was he in the pocket of my jeans?
No.
Was he in my bag?
No.
Was he in the pocket of my pocket?
No.
Where was he!

Eventually we would find one another again.

But then he became even more mischievous and began to play with me in ways that would leave me utterly amazed.

One day, I had an appointment with my therapist. I bathed and dressed then packed my essentials into my bag. I knew he was around, but my attempt to find him proved futile. I would have to travel without him.
I was disappointed.

So I get to my therapist’s office, wait a few minutes in the waiting room, browsing through the latest issue of Gossip, People Magazine, which I love doing, before going into the office.

I settled into the comfy couch, crossed my legs, and began talking to my therapist. Moments later I glanced down at my crossed legs and saw a protrusion on my right leg, on the inside, level with my calf, and I am flummoxed.

Omg.
What is that!
I say to my therapist.

I pull my leggings up and reach in and guess who comes out?

Yep.
It was him.

But how did he get there?
I have no idea.

And my therapist says:
Buddha is always with you, while laughing at the absurdity of this mystery.

I guess so, I said.
But I was just happy to see him again.

Weeks later, I had a lengthy meeting in a professional office setting, a large conference room. And he was there with me. We were going over papers. I was spread out everywhere, and when it was time to leave, I began to gather and put myself back together again, and left, without giving a thought to Buddha.

The next morning, I noticed he had mysteriously disappeared again. My search, once again, was futile. I had many other things to do, so I became distracted, while in the back of my mind, wondering where he was now!

I began to retrace my steps (I do that often with him) and thought perhaps he decided to stay in the Smart (He’s done that before.). But when I searched the Smart, he wasn’t there.

The pace was hectic then. I had lots of paperwork to collect, calls to make, coordinating the transfer of information – I hadn’t been able to paint!

And, I was highly distracted.

Then it occurred to me that he probably decided to stay with my attorney, and I would call him and check as soon as I had a free moment. But then again, they would’ve called me, wouldn’t they, if they had found him? So maybe he was somewhere else?

Then late last week, I received an envelope in the mail. A large one. It was from Chicago. I opened the envelope and found another envelope inside of the big one, just like it, only smaller. So I opened the smaller envelope, but it appeared to be empty. I reached into the bottom of it, and there he was!
In the corner.

I see.
So you like flying as well, I thought.
Baltimore to Chicago.
Chicago to Baltimore.

Me too!