# Keepers

Category: Let's talk

## Post 1 by Lupinsgirl (I can't call it a day til I enter the zone BBS) on Monday, 16-Jul-2007 16:21:09

I grew up with practical grandparents who had been frightened by the Great Depression in the 1930's. A grandmother, 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 grandfather who was happier getting old
shoes fixed than buying new ones.
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Grandpap in trousers, tee shirt and a hat
and Grandma 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 repairing, 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 grandfather died, and on that clear fall 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 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..... And 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 who are "keepers" in your life. Send it back to me if I, too, am a keeper to you. Good friends are like stars.... You don't always see them,
but you know they are always there.

## Post 2 by nikos (English words from a Greek thinking brain) on Monday, 16-Jul-2007 16:31:28

I agree with this email appart from the end. So do we have to send this email to everyone in our inbox to show them how importan they are? Wouldn't be better if we wrote an exclusive email to each of them asking them how they are and telling them our news? This is how we show we care. By cellecting everyone in our addressbook and hitting send we show nothing in my oppinion. But thanks for sharing.

## Post 3 by Blue Velvet (I've got the platinum golden silver bronze poster award.) on Monday, 16-Jul-2007 16:54:39

This is a nice reminder that we should tell the people we love how we feel about them. Even if we don't copy and paste this exact message, just letting someone you care about know they are important to you is always a good idea. You never know when someone will die suddenly or disappear from your life.