I was reading Pearl's blog this morning and she talked about finding a rock in her purse that her father had given her. I love Pearl's blog. She always sees the humorous side of life. But it also made me think of how precious are the memories that are attached to the ordinary things that surround us. We all tend to fill our lives the the latest gadgets, fancy cars and expensive doodads and forget the little things that trigger our special memories. For instance, I can never pick up a spool of thread without remembering my mother. She was a wonderful seamstress and spent her whole life sewing for other people. She made all of the clothes for our whole family and they were beautiful and well-made. When I look through my high school yearbook, there is a picture of the cheerleaders wearing the outfits my Mom made for them. Growing up we were surrounded by her handiwork, the pillows on the sofa, the curtains on the windows, the clothes we wore. Folded away in a box in the top of my closet is the wedding dress she made for me over 50 years ago. We didn't realize at the time that it was her love that surrounded us in every single stitch. Priceless and precious.
So be very careful when you clean out your closets, garages or attics. There will come a time in your life when the memories are all you have left of the special people that touched your life. So cherish the rock, or the spool of thread or whatever reminds you of those special people. The memories sustain you and help you to survive the golden years.
