Neither a borrower nor a lender be
For loan oft loses both itself and friend
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Poor Polonius. Such a miserly and overbearing old man….must have had his fair share of unfortunate outcomes after lending a helping hand to his fellow man. Or perhaps Shakespeare just needed a wary character to serve as a vessel for his own general mistrust of people. Either way, I hope to never get to a point in my life where this principle makes sense to my way of being.
(sidenote: I find it morbidly appropriate that I happen to be crouching beside a Moneytree brick in this picture, given the topic of my blog…..)

I have been through a few toilsome trials recently that could easily have broken my belief in the giveth-receiveth spirit of living, but thankfully I have people in my life who give happily, readily, on a moment’s notice…and understand me well enough to know I’ll do the same. We are both borrowers and lenders, because our lives are better for it.

At 5:15pm on Monday, just 30 minutes before I had to be at Story Story Night’s latest show – FAiL: Stories of Mistakes and Misfires – I called Kelly in a complete quandary over what to wear. She told me to come by her house, and as I rushed in the door a few minutes later, she gave me a big hug and handed me this spicy persimmon-hued frock. Later, she took these fantastic photos of me in her dress. In exchange, I bought her a ticket to the show and a little Piehole. A perfect trade.

It’s a small thing, loaning a person your clothing (after all, it is just form-fitting material), but it’s a big gesture. It says you trust the person well enough to know you’ll see them again soon, and shows that you care enough about a person’s wellbeing that you want them to feel their best in a crowded room full of strangers.

Doing my best Ophelia impersonation…..

Dress: Adolfo Studio
Shoes: vintage thrift store find, no tag
Black leather purse: gift, no tag
Earrings & long necklace: Hazel Cox
Red glass bead necklace: Antique World Mall
Turquoise Navajo ring: gift from great-grandmother
Beaded bracelet: handmade by Kelly Lynae