* Keeper,*
>>>
>>> *I grew up in the 50's/60'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, broom 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!*
>>>
>>>
>>>