A Keeper  
 
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused .. Their best

friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in

trousers, work 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-fixing, re-heating leftovers, renewing; I wanted just once to be 

wasteful.  Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant

you knew there’d always be more.

But when my mother died, and I was standing in that clear

morning light in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck

with the pain o f 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... 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 that are ’keepers’ in your life.

Good friends are like stars... You don’t always see them, but you

know they are always there!