Finding "The One"

I believe it was this past Sunday, or maybe sometime last week that a woman (we'll call her Leeann) in her mid 50's approached my desk in the fine china department and, like 1,000,000,000 others, asked for a registry print out. Leeann was dressed professionally in a red and black pant suit and she donned enough diamonds to sparkle more than the Waterford crystal displays. I printed the registry and she stood at the counter scanning the different price points and colors of bath towels listed on the paper. It was then that I noticed her necklace. It was a geometric design of yellow and white gold and it stood out above the rest of her clearly valuable pieces because it was nearly entirely encrusted in a layer of diamonds. I complimented her statement piece and she informed me she works at a local (and decadent) jewelry store. I proceeded to ask her if she enjoys being in the company of jewels daily and how long she has worked there; this is how the information I gathered:

After Leeann had children she became employed at the jewelry store. At first, her purchases were keepsakes for her children on special occasions but now that her children are grown and married off her investments have become slightly more self-indulgent. After thirty years in the engagement ring business she elucidated on how she can sense whether or not a couple will "make it". She told me how it doesn't matter how long you've known each other because when you've found "the one" you just look in each other's eyes and know.
After assuming she had found her "one" Leeann told me how she hasn't; she left her husband after thirty years of marriage and three children together. She told me she had a "challenging" married life. However children, even grown ones, apparently take this separation painfully and she tries to comfort her adult offspring by letting them know that it is easier on their parents to live this way then to live the way her children are accustomed.
Leeann is not lonely though and wasn't interested in my advice to adopt a puppy to keep her company (who needs a puppy when you have four karats around your neck). And I found it surprising, I guess intriguing, that a divorced woman in her 50's still faithfully believes that she will find "the one". In the past when I've dreamed about having that fairytale I viewed it as a childhood fantasy; something that should be grown out of. It relieved me to find an adult, professional woman still dreaming the same dream and still assuming it will come true.

She purchased a pair of Waterford toasting flutes for the couple.

An Introduction (Naturally)

This is me. I am nineteen. I'm a full time college student and part time bridal consultant at one of those impersonal nationwide department stores that hire women who are willing to delude the minds of lovestruck young couples and tell them "Oh yes, every married couple needs sixteen place settings of $100+ fine china" and "Of course it's practical! You'll use it all the time!" I am engaged to a truly wonderful guy who really does treat me like a princess. We met ten months ago and will be married in a little over a year. Crazy, right?

I realized when I started working in the adult world that many grown-ups had difficulties in their life and were in the process of healing and despite their pain were willing to share their stories with me. I've had a different kind of teenage experience which left me broken, confused, and unsure of how to make peace. As I've gone through jobs (and life) I've met many regular people with extraordinary stories. Lately, I have felt as though God has presented me with these people to teach me. I feel like I'm ready to come to terms with my previous circumstances and make peace with my regrets after nine months of speechlessness. This blog is intended to record the dialogues between myself and these God-sent, as well as my thoughts on healing.