The Keeper & The Fix Me Angel

A week or two ago when I posted this evocative picture of an old couple,
it touched a few hearts.

Quite soon after,
I received a large envelope in the mail.
When I opened it,
I found a pile of precious & lovely things.
Dear, kind Julie from My Threadbear Life had included a copy of this story, The Keeper, for me.
The very first thing I did, was to share it with my Monday phone news listeners..our local phone news service for the blind.
I'd also love to share it with you.

The Keeper

"I grew up in the fifties 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 rather than buying new ones.
Their marriage was good, their dreams focussed. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, shirt & a hat & Mum in her house dress, lawn mower inn one hand, dishcloth in the other.
It was the time for fixing things~ a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, oven door, the hem on a dress. Things we keep. It was a way of life & sometimes it made me crazy. All that fixing, re-heating, 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, & 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 & goes away, never to return. So while we have it~ it's best we love it~ & care for it~ & fix it when it's broken~ & heal it when it's sick.
This is true for marriage~ & old cars~& children with bad report cards~ & dogs with bad hips~ & aging parents~ & grandparents. We keep them because they're worth it~ because we're worth it.
Some things we keep. A best friend that moved away or a classmate that we grew up with. There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special~ & so we keep them close!
Good friends are like the stars....you don't always see them, but you know they are always there."

A little while later I came across this tiny purse.

Inside it I found a card with these words written on it.

Contains beautiful, recycling, valuable lost now found,
 old boxes damp papers, unread books, broken things,
 loft finds, inheritances, gifts, treasures,
 breathing new life into old things.
 Making the unwanted wanted once more.
 Telling a whole new story..look again Nicky Snow.

Just look at her...she's the "Fix Me Angel" isn't she cute?

I guess that's what so many of us have been looking for...a Fix Me Angel.

Which is kind of why there is a story about a baby that has been told & re-told for over 2000 years.

It turns out, we were in need of a little help.

You know, this week..

 I have felt the graze of nastiness,

 the heat of sharp words & the rub of immovable attitudes.

 I have encountered haughtiness & arrogance & people who think they are more important than everyone else

 & it has made me agitated & cross

 but then,

 with relief I have run...

run home...

 to my child-like ways & simple celebrations of gratitude & honour..  

 Silly?...yip!!
 I have been..playing a drum that I found in the Salvation Army.
While it waits for the boys to arrive.

 I have retrieved my violin from the back of the wardrobe, returned it to it's original case..

 sold the other interesting option (someone's getting a startling surprise this Christmas!)
And spent 10 minutes at a time practicing a little old piece of music called Violets.
I would play it for you but I assure you this is music for my ears alone.

 I have hung a short festive bunting

 & tested a little fruit mince...quite often really.

And then,

 I thought of you & my heart went phew..

my kind, sweet visitors & friends...you are so lovely!

This darling old postcard is kindly offered for our use by The Graphics Fairy.

Do you know Floss?

She lives in France & is such an interesting person.

If you like, thanks to Floss, you can pop in here & visit with others sharing some thoughts in this time leading up to Christmas.

MUCH 

 ♥♥♥♥♥