It hangs on the third hook from the back door, but there for a while, it hung on a hook by the front door, so she could see it more often. She’s completely smitten with it even after one year later and it’s one of those things that gets better with age.

Her neighbor thought she was crazy to pour so much time and effort into finding a broom and said, “Just go to the hardware store and get a broom”, but she had looked and they didn’t have the kind she wanted. She smiled knowing this advice came from a man whose broom was being held together by duct tape, but she loved him anyway. By now all the neighbors knew this woman is a little eccentric, but that didn’t bother her anymore. She knows who she is deep within and they only view the surface.

She wanted a broom with long, straw, bristles and preferably a wooden handle, like on Halloween decor with a witch using it to ride across the night sky. Aw…she was no witch, however, if you got her laughing at just the right pitch it’d make you wonder.

She searched online and the photos revealed the type of broom she wanted, but she knew better than to trust the photos. Plus, because of the height of the broom, shipping was an enormous amount, so she would need to happen upon one while out shopping. By now, it’s May and she had almost given up on her broom, until one day she was standing in the cleaning aisle of her local grocery store, when she looked up and there it was…just one straw, bristled broom…hanging right in front of her.

Her heart leapt and she squealed with delight while standing in that cleaning aisle, but she couldn’t find a price on the broom and had to ask for help. She found a young man stocking shelves on the same aisle and asked him to scan the broom as she held her breath. The scanner beeped and the man stared at the screen waiting for the price to appear. He looked at her and said, “It’s $6.95”, as she stared at him in disbelief!

The ones she found online started at $20, on up, but she saw it as her higher power smiling on her for her patience. She took the broom off the wall where it was hanging and laid it across her shopping cart to make her way to the checkout. This one had a metal handle which would last longer than wood and she was ecstatic!

She loves making messes just to get to use it and the swish, swish sound of the straw bristles with every sweep soothes her soul and brings a smile to her lips. Who knew such a ceremonial experience could be captured for so little money, but that’s how it feels every time she lifts it from it’s hook and begins to sweep with the broom for $6.95.

Feature Photo by Saskia Wustefeld on Unsplash