> Some things we keep...
>
> I grew up in the fifties 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
> winter's day, in the warmth of her home.
> 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!
>
> Now send this to all those people that are
> "keepers" in your life...like you!!
> >>
>