Keeper

[Guest guest]

Keeper

I grew up in the 40s/50s 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..... 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!

I received this from someone who thinks I am a

'keeper', so I've sent it to the people I think of in

the same way.. Now it's your turn to send this to

those people that are " keepers " in your life Good

friends are like stars.... You don't always see them,

but you know

they are always there.

Keep them close!