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KEEPER
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 his hand, and dish-towel in hers 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 who 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 who are 'keepers' in your life.
Send it back to the person that sent it to you if they too are a
keeper. Good friends are like stars...you don't always see them,
but you know they are always there.
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 his hand, and dish-towel in hers 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 who 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 who are 'keepers' in your life.
Send it back to the person that sent it to you if they too are a
keeper. Good friends are like stars...you don't always see them,
but you know they are always there.
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