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The Golden Nugget

8/14/2018

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After many years we finally traded our old car in for a new one. With major repairs looming and too many miles it was a choice that had to be made. So we signed the papers and went to clean out the contents of the car. There really wasn’t too much to remove. Just the usual stuff. A road atlas because we are still old enough to actually use real maps. Napkins, the car manual and odds and ends from the glovebox. Jumper cables, a Kleenex box and recharging cords. All easily tucked into two bags. And it was time to shut the door for the last time.

I’m not usually too sentimental about parting with a vehicle. What I drive is more a matter of practicality than a statement of status or good taste to me. Just get me from point A to point B safely. But this car and I had really seen some good times. Going back and forth to several jobs. Traveling across country to visit kids, their spouses and new homes. Three coming of age trips with the oldest grandchildren. And even some spontaneous jaunts with my spouse now that we have more freedom and time together. We have always given a name to all of the cars that we have owned together. And this one, due to it’s color, was the Golden Nugget. And I suddenly felt very sad about having to part.

It wasn’t about leaving the metal and plastic components of the car. It was more about leaving a certain time period behind. A span of years that has been very kind to me. I realized that the car wasn’t the true Golden Nugget. The treasures were the moments behind the wheel and the time sitting looking out from the passenger seat. And I can take those nuggets with me no matter what vehicle I have.

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Broken

7/10/2018

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Recently there have been 2 broken things in my life. The first is the ceramic doll in the photo above. My cat got a bit too adventurous while I was gone the other day, and knocked it off a shelf. I felt really bad because it has been with me since I was a little girl. It was one of the first beautiful things I bought for myself. It traveled with me into two bedrooms as a child, a college dorm, my first apartments, my first house. It has sat on a shelf in my crafting area for many years, smiling down at me, a link to the little girl who spied it in a store so long ago.

Last week, I accidentally knocked over my granddaughter’s lamp. After checking to make sure no one was hurt, I saw my granddaughter trying not to cry. You see, that lamp had belonged to her mother and I knew she really likes having it in her room. I knew how she felt. I really liked my doll too.  How could I explain to her that although we love things, it is okay if they get broken? How to assure her that things are only things and not the primary part of life?

​We talked about how it was most important that no one got hurt when the lamp fell. Then we talked about what she might want as a replacement, although I understood how much she liked the broken lamp. And then we talked about how many things may get broken but most of them will not be that important over the course of a lifetime. That is the conversation that satisfied the 9 year old. But this grandma knew that someday this conversation about broken things would be so much more complex. Because we all know that hearts, trust, hopes & dreams; these are the real things that can get broken.  My doll, her lamp. That’s the easy stuff.

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Coming Out of a Closet

6/26/2018

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Recently I was called upon to assist with cleaning my daughter’s new house. I am really good at cleaning. So it was no surprise to find the vacuum cleaner in my hands upstairs taking down the cobwebs in the grandchildren’s rooms. I started out in my granddaughter’s closet. The task didn’t take total concentration so my mind wandered. And my thoughts went on an unexpected journey.
You see, most people would see this closet as a small space to store things. But I am the mother of three daughters and I know a thing or two about a girl’s closet. I could visualize it as her space to play with dolls or cuddle up and read a book. A prime spot to crawl underneath something to disappear in a game of hide and seek. A place to have a secret conversation with a friend. Sometimes those walls might hear her yelling or see her tears when she is sure her parents are out to permanently ruin her social life or friends turn out to be less then expected. Its corners will be filled with boxes of treasures, contents changing with the years, some of the mementos waiting many years for rediscovery. The rods will see hangers filled with twirly little girl skirts, then prom dresses, graduation gowns and perhaps one day a wedding dress. And at last the contents will disappear, because it is only right that she grow up and move on.
I hope I am around for as much of the real journey as possible. Because I sure enjoyed the imaginary one. And for every generation that empties a closet, there is always another generation getting ready to fill it. And there’s a grandmother coming out of a closet with a vacuum cleaner in her hand.
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The Best Day Ever

2/13/2018

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Little kids have the right way to look at the world. After spending a weekend with my grandkids, especially my six-year-old grandson, I am convinced of it. 

As a grandparent I feel it is my job to make sure the grandkids have a good time every time we are together. I remember how excited my kids were to be spoiled by their grandparents and I want to provide that same feeling for the next generation. So it is a pleasure to plan special activities, make their favorite foods and give them my attention. And the pleasure given is more than equally returned. And part of that return is my grandson’s favorite phrase at the end of every day we spend together - “This was the best day ever!”

If only we would all say that. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and for many it will be a special day. But it shouldn’t take a holiday to make a day special. We need to look at each day with thankful eyes and the heart of a six-year-old. When a day goes well. When we spend time with people we love. When we have enough food to eat and a warm place to spend the night. Because, in truth, that makes each day “the best day ever!”
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