Keeping
the Important Things
I grew up in the
forties with practical parents -- a Mother, God love her, who
washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it. She
was the original Recycle Queen, before they had a name for
it...
A Father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new
ones.
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends
lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee
shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress, lawn mower in one hand,
dishtowel in the other.
It was the time for fixing things -- a curtain rod, the kitchen
radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we
keep.
It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that
re-fixing, reheating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful.
Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant there'd always be
more.
But then my Mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the
warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning
that sometimes there isn't any 'more.'
Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away
...never to return. So...while we have it...it's best we love
it...and care for it...and fix it when it's broken...and heal it
when it's sick.
This is true...for marriage...and old cars...and children with bad
report cards...and dogs with bad hips...and aging parents ...and
grandparents.
We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth
it.
Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away -- or -- a
classmate we grew up with.
There are just some things that make life important, like people we
know who are special...and so, we keep them close!
~ Author Unknown ~
Close Menu