A Keeper
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best
friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in
trousers, work 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, re-heating leftovers, renewing; I wanted just
once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing
things away meant you knew there'd always be more.
But when my mother died, and I was standing in that clear
morning light 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
shared it with the people I think of in the same way... Now it's
your turn to share it with 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!
friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in
trousers, work 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, re-heating leftovers, renewing; I wanted just
once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing
things away meant you knew there'd always be more.
But when my mother died, and I was standing in that clear
morning light 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
shared it with the people I think of in the same way... Now it's
your turn to share it with 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!