Broken

Sometimes things break. If we are lucky, they are small things that are insignificant in the larger scheme of things. Like the handle on a favorite coffee mug.

Before things break they often crack. Sometimes those cracks are tiny and need no assistance. Sometimes they require a band-aid, like tape, and things are better. Turn the vase a quarter of a turn this way and no one will see the little taped crack.

Occassionally something with get a big crack in it, maybe even a small piece falls out, but you can rubber cement it back into place. If you are lucky the break was a clean one and the rubber cement can cleanly seal the wound and it's almost as if it had never happened. Most people would have to look very, very closely to even notice it.

Then there is that special piece. Something you always hope you will have. Something that you never want to get injured even in the slightest little way. Sometimes I think we are too careful with these items. We want so badly to keep them pristine and perfect that we never truly appreciate them for what they are.

What happens when the vase has hundreds of tiny little cracks? There is only so much rubber cement that can be applied. Sometimes that piece is going to shatter and there is nothing else that can be done.