I collect Orange Leaf spoons. It's a pretty decent sized collection, really. The way it works is I save every spoon I've ever used when eating at Orange Leaf. My collection has grown quite a bit since I started working at Orange Leaf, especially since I found out that I get a free bowl after every shift. After I eat, I save my spoon. That's just the way it works. This collection started the first time I went to Orange Leaf. The spoons are really cool, actually. They have a really weird shape, and they're biodegradable, so don't put them in the dishwasher. Apparently they melt. They do withstand the washing machine, though, so if you leave a spoon in your pocket when you wash your jeans, the spoon should be fine. It may warp a little, though.
Anyways, the cool shape, bright color, and biodegradability of the spoons made me fall in love with the them, and consequentially I have been keeping them in my purse. I currently have 10 or so orange spoons in my purse. The more my collection grows, the more comments I get on what an odd collection it is. Since all of these spoons are in my purse, I take them with me everywhere. I use them when I eat lunch at school, when I have a snack at home, and even when I eat at competing restaurants like Dairy Queen or Sweet Cece's. I'll admit, plastic spoons are an odd thing to collect, but at this point, I really just can't stop.
I spent the evening a few days ago hanging out with my and Ben's families at Orange Leaf after my shift. I took advantage of my free bowl and grabbed another spoon to eat my frozen yogurt. Upon finishing my snack, I threw away the bowl. Without thinking, I tossed the bowl in the trash, spoon included.
And then all hell broke loose.
I threw away my spoon. And I was freaking. out. How could I have done that!? How could I have been so stupid, and so clueless, and so thoughtless!? My collection was ruined!
Everyone was trying to calm me down, telling me to get another spoon, but no one really understood. I didn't need just any spoon. I needed that spoon. I save every spoon I've ever used. And I used that spoon. But I didn't save it. My collection, all of those spoons I'd saved, was ruined. It would never be complete. One moment of carelessness had ruined all of my efforts in the past.
Let me be the first to say how ridiculous my reaction to all of this was. I mean, really, it's just a spoon. And no matter how anal and OCD I am, it really is just a spoon.
But at that point in time, it was more than a spoon. I tried to forget about it. I tried not to think about how much it sucked that I'd ruined my collection. I tried to ignore the fact that my collection would never be complete. I really tried.
Tried and failed.
I was so upset about it that it was all I could think about. I was so upset about it that I couldn't concentrate on the conversation. I was so upset about it that I cried. I was so upset about it that I asked Mark to dig through the trash can and find my spoon.
The amazing part of this story is that he actually did.
This is the part of my blog post where I would write a conclusion about how my obsession over little details is a bad habit I need to break, or how I need to not stress over the little, insignificant things in life, or how amazing it is that Mark dug through the trash to find a spoon for me. But really, my collection is complete. I'm happy. And that's all the conclusion I have.