A KEEPER

From LEE RENO

I grew up with practical parents. A mother 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.

I can see her now, in Blue Bell jeans, 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, eating, 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, and 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 and 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, and heal it when it's sick.

This is true. For marriage, old cars, children with bad report cards, dogs with bad hips, 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 and haven't seen for awhile.

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". Good friends are like stars; you don't always see them, but you know they are always there. Keep them close!