Keepers

[Guest guest]

From a Great friend,in Pa..

bugs

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Carol

Keepers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I grew up with practical parents who had been frightened by the Great

Depression in the 1930's. 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-pairing,

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....old cars....and children with bad

reportcards. Dogs and cats with bad hips....aging parents....and grand-parents.

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....so, we keep them close! Good friends are like stars....you

don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

 

 

Keep them close!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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