KEEPERS
I grew
up in the 30's/40's & 50's 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, and dish-towel 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,
eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence..
Throwing things away meant you knew 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..... Dogs and cats 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!
I received this from someone who thinks I am a 'keeper', so I've put it on my
website for every one who reads this and knows me as their friend, will know I
think they are all Keepers. Good friends are like stars... You don't
always see them, but you know they are always there.
Keep them close - they are priceless and irreplaceable.
Home
BUFORD Families in America Book 2005
Letters
Simeon R. Buford
Letters
John Quincy Adams Buford
And my ALL-TIME favorite ~ TRIVIA
~~~Clouds by Torie~~~