This is A Keeper

“I grew up 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, lawn mower in one hand, and dishtowel 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 … And dogs 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! “

“Good friends are like stars … You don’t always see them, but you know they are always there. Keep them close! “

 

AUTHOR UNKNOWN