I thought this would be a nice weekend starter.
From my Great Aunt:> I grew up with practical parents who had been frightened by the Great
> Depression in the 1930's. 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 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-pairing, 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 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 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 who
> 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.
>
>
> Keep them close.
