Little Treasures

10/15/2012

Little Treasures

What little treasures do you keep?  I'll share mine and you can share yours.  In my dresser is a small jar of teeth (gross to some of you I know) that the tooth fairy collected from three boys over many years.  Who they belong to, I have no idea.  Why do I keep them?  Can't really answer that either I just know I can't toss them out.  I'm pretty sure that some day the boys will come across the jar of teeth and give them the heave-ho.  But for now they don't take up much space and I'm going to keep them.

I keep acorns.  Oh not just any acorns just special ones.  We had a large oak tree that died and had to be taken down and it was sad.  So before it was hauled away I collected some acorns from that beautiful tree and kept them.  Silly?  Sure but again they are small and impossible to throw out.

My new cleaning lady who is very efficient and thorough found a pair of Ben's little bitty socks behind the dryer one day.  If you're thinking I tossed them out you'd be wrong.  I washed them and clipped them to a magnet on the back door.  Creepy?  I don't think so, they remind me of Ben when he was small and that's a treasured memory for me.  

I collect rocks and shells and have filled several large jars with the things I've collected over the years.  I can't tell you where I found these beauties, I just know that I picked them up somewhere and some time.  I carried the wet and sandy shells and rocks home with me to be washed and put on display and that's a good enough reason for me to keep them.  On my desk at work is a jar filled with sand from various beaches and shells.  On a really bad day I open the jar and the ocean is right there.  It's an "ah" moment when I need it the most.

My cedar chest is full of Ben's art, I keep it all.  I date each piece and pack them safely away.  I am very sentimental and know that once you toss something out you are never going to get it back.  The things I save are my memories.  I can reach out and touch and smell them whenever I want.  When I open up my cedar chest memories flow over me.  Ribbons from flowers, sympathy cards, baby things, my wedding dress and the last letter I received from my mother.  It's all there and they're mine.  When the chest becomes full I will have to make a difficult decision - clean out the chest or buy another one.  I think you already know what I'm going to do.  I'm keeping my treasures around me for as long as I can.  They are mine, they are unique and I love them.

P