Keep Them Close

I grew up in the late 50s & 60s with practical parents. A mother (God love her) who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, and saved Christmas wrapping paper, then reused them (She was the original recycle queen, long before they had a name for it). And a father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones.

I can see them now; it was a time for fixing things; a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, the screen door, the oven, the hem in a dress, darning socks – things we kept. It was a way of life, and sometimes t made me crazy. All that refixing, eating, and renewing – I wanted just once to be wasteful.

Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there would always be more. But then my father died. And during those clear autumn nites, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there is not any more. Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up, and goes away … never to return.

So, while we have it, it is best we love it … care for it … and fix it when it is broken … and heal it when it is sick. This is true for marriage … and old cars … and children with bad school reports … and dogs with bad hips … and aging parents … and grandparents.

We keep them because they’re worth it, because we are worth it.

Yes, we keep them close.
Author Unknown