Keeper

I grew up in the 50'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.. and NEVER bought
anything with credit.

      They were in a nice neighborhood.  Their best friends lived barely a
wave away..

      I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and 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 Spring day, 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  and even a brother.   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!