wisdom

A Note of Warning: I know that this post is going to be extra long. I hope you will stick with me though. I think this is going to end up being one of my favorite posts of all time. Please take the time as well, to go to my daughter's post that I refer to and read the list of things that have inspired me to write this one.


I just read my daughter Heidi's newest post. She received an e-mail of beautiful thoughts and ideas written by a very wise woman named Regina Brett. Follow this link to her post and please take the time to read them all. You won't be sorry.

After reading this wonderful list I found that I was quite pleased at how many of these tenets I already have learned to follow. Even though several of them have taken me around 48 years or more to learn. I look at myself and realize how much more I like me, certainly more than I did 20 or 30 years ago.

I know that so many of the things I have learned can usually only come with age.
I sure hope that if I can make it to my 90's that I will have as much wisdom to share as Ms. Brett does.
A few of those little "pearls of wisdom" really resounded with me.

Non-assuming Number 17 struck me like a thunder bolt.

I realized that I already follow this one quite a lot. In fact the thing that I immediately thought of was the 2 dollar bill that I won from David several months ago in one of his blog giveaways.

I will never spend it.

I simply keep it in one of my drawers. Every time I'm looking through them for something and I see that perky little 2 dollar bill, I just have to smile.
The same thing goes for a wooden paper doll that I've had for so long I can't even remember when I got it. I absolutely remember how I got it though. My youngest sister Janice had taken a trip somewhere, again, I can't remember where. Anyway she went into this charming little rustic store, where she saw a display of little wooden "paper" dolls.

I have loved paper dolls my whole life. Janice knows that about me, which is what motivated her to get it for me.

I have also always loved making them. When I was a kid I was forever making them and building up their wardrobes to the point that there have probably never been better dressed paper dolls. My most recent paper doll making was about ten years ago for my youngest Courtney. One day I just got the urge and decided to make a series of dolls for her and her best friend Karleen to play with. They took them to school and played with them at recess. After a while several of the other fourth grade girls wanted to play with them too. So I made copies.
It makes me happy to remember those little dolls. I actually still have them and sometimes I bring them out and let Abbey, Lindsay, Alexandra and Lorelai play with them.

My main point here is, that i have a darling little wooden doll that my sister Janice got me years and years ago. I keep it in one of my drawers. I come across her quite often and each time I pull her out, I can't help but smile as I think of my sister getting her for me, "just because".

Another thing in one of my drawers, (i do actually have clothes in them as well. Really.) Is a Happy Meal, International, Dutch Barbie. I am part Dutch and I was thrilled to be able to get her. I almost missed out because she was one of the first distributed and by the time I knew there had been a "Dutch" Barbie, I was told that they were all out of that one. Lucky for me that I have a well developed sense of tenacity. It took a while but I finally snagged one at the McDonald's in Richland.

It's a Long Story.

Again, I've had her for so many years I can't even remember just how long it has been. I've even left her in her plastic wrapper, you know, just in case she's ever worth something? Which is totally moot at this point seeing as how i would NEVER part with her.

Last, but absolutely, not least, of my little treasures, and also the oldest, is a darling china, fat little pink and white piggy bank with the sweetest little wreath of flowers around her head. I got her at a present swap when I was seven years old and in Girl Scouts. As soon as she was opened by another girl it was instant love for me. I tried my hardest to get her when my turn came around.

And I did!

And then nasty little Nancy took her from me.

Ooh, I have never felt such white hot intense hatred towards another person as I did that day in my friend Janey's basement. I have mentioned before that my little Lorelai has that same hot temper that I had at that young age.
I did have enough grace to not haul off and slug her right in her nasty, smug, little face. But what I did do was get up and run upstairs and flop myself down on my friend Janey's couch and burst into a completely uncontrollable crying fit.
I don't remember which girl it was anymore, but one of the girls got it away from stupid Nancy.

Bless her sweet seven year old heart.

I heard footsteps coming upstairs, and I knew I was probably in for a major chastisement. Instead it was sweet little seven year old girl, who's name I can't remember and Janey's mom.
The little girl handed me the piggy bank.
For just a moment I didn't know if I was going to keep crying or if I would laugh.

Again, that is a detail that escapes me.

All I know is that the dusting powder that I had been booby prized with, went home with my sweet little seven year old savior. And the pink and white piggy bank with the wreath of flowers around her head went across the street to my house with me.

It hardly matters that my dear little "Piglet" has been broken three times over the years. Each time due to a naughty little brother.
(Don't worry Mike and Brian, I won't name names)
Each time I lovingly glued her back together. Wait, , , ,now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure that the third time, it was broken by my own child.
Donald always was too curious and inquisitive for his own good.

Today my little "Piglet" sits in a place of honor on top of my dresser. If Courtney didn't want to inherit her so bad I swear I would want her to be buried with me.

These things that I have talked about, for me, are the best kinds of things to keep.

I have so many small things that I really love. Most of them are items that someone going through my drawers would look at and never guess that those seemingly small, trivial, little possessions are of great importance to me.
And you know what little piece of wisdom I realize I have learned from all of this?
I, like most people, would put my family;
my dear husband Don, of 33 years;
My five wonderful children and my cherished son and daughter-in-law;
My five precious granddaughters;
Obviously, I put them ahead of anything else of importance in my life.

That certainly doesn't mean however that in case a fire, once I knew that my loved ones were safe and accounted for, that I wouldn't want to go back in and grab as many of my treasured items as I could.
Consequently, if I was to lose everything except my family I would be sad to have lost these few beloved items that mean so much to me.
The comfort would be, of course, that even if I was to lose them all, I would always have my memories of them.

As I sit here and write this up I just can't help but be thankful for the wisdom I have gained. I know and understand SO much more now at 52 than I would have ever thought possible at, say, 28.

I have absolutely no fear of getting old.

I know that the wrinkles will come, I can only assume that my really bad knees will get even worse. I will most likely lose a little more of my hearing and my eyesight. I may even find that I have no control over whether I fart or not.
Ya know what?
Big deal.
Bring on those years.
I can hardly wait!


side note; my next post will hopefully be pictures of the little treasures I have talked about here. I just need to get Lisa over here with her camera.