Our elderly neighbors up the road have both passed now and the family is having a sale of household stuff and old tools. The everyday stuff of their lives is displayed with price tags on them.
I knew my neighbors in passing, literally, because I walked the road with my dog for a few years. The man would be puttering in his garage which was way too close to the road, but it was easy for us to say 'hello' and speak for a few minutes before my dog got impatient to move on. One day the neighborhood cows got out and were walking on the road with me. I was relieved to see my older friend out by his garage that morning. I was a bit afraid of those cows because they were young bulls-guess I shouldn't call them cows, huh? Anyway, my friend came to my rescue and shooed them away.
I wish now I had lots more stories to tell about my neighbors up the road. Isn't that what our lives are made of? Minute details, likes and dislikes, personality traits, personal memories and private stories. A life is woven by all of those threads.
For instance, my mom told me when she was three years old, she liked to put stones in her shoes and walk in them that way. Her parents took her to a foot doctor to see if something was wrong. That story is a tiny thread, a memory that is now part of my story.
It was sad for me to walk through my neighbor's house and see it empty of them, but full of the stuff of their lives. Scattered and piled. Stories hidden now because they are gone.
So I bought and old Lux kitchen timer and some antique crates. I don't really have room or a purpose for those crates but I had to have them. The timer reminds me of my Grandma's old one-it was a Lux too, but a different style. A thread-a connection-now more than ever I feel I need connections. I need something to make sense in a mad world.
Politics, hoax theories, fear of a disease gone rabid, divisions among friends and family because of differing ideas about the virus-it's too much to process and make any sense of. I needed those crates and that timer.
My good friends are at rest. I have something she touched when she baked and cooked those long years in that kitchen. I have my friend's crates.
And I have a thread of their lives woven into my own.
***
12 comments:
I'm glad you have some things from your friends, and this way you will always be reminded of them. I have lots of little things from friends/family who have died, nothing valuable, but things with memories for me - books, pens, little everyday things. Things like this help to ground us, especially in these difficult times that we are experiencing just now. Have a good weekend, stay safe, hugs, Valerie
Hugs
I'm sorry that your neighbors are now gone. I am glad you got the crates and the timer, something to always remember them by. Hugs. N.
Debra there is something so very sad about an empty house that once had folks who lived and loved within the walls. I am sure you will find something creative to do with those crates. Take care friend. Hugs!
Beautiful post. Sympathies.
I see the crates pile atop a fence, and filled with flowers and bug housing.
At least both of these objects will always remember the kindness of your neighbors. And will impress you.
Greetings from Indonesia.
I am glad you were able to get the crates. You probably could grow flowers in them. The timer is wonderful. I love the line - "And I have a thread of their lives woven into my own." A beautiful post!
-Soma
I'm glad you found a thread. It sometimes feels like all ties have been broken. I have that divide in my family...really my husband's. They post on FB things I can't relate too. Social media reflects the unrest in the country. I don't go there anymore.
On a lighter note, I would have bought that timer. Have you seen what they are selling in the stores and calling it a timer? I like a timer on the counter. I don't want to use my phone as a timer. Gosh I am stuck in the past, lol.
xx, Carol
A lovely post that honors the friendship between your families. There is always such a tremendous loss of stories and memories when elders die. I'm glad you have ways to remind you.
The threads that make up our tapestries of life are Christ woven... this beautiful thread of your neighbours' lives in yours will be gorgeous on that great and wonderful day of His appearing.
Debra that's so lovely how you are honouring the lives of your neighbours.. that timer would have been used daily nearly and those crates, I bet there were plans for them. They would be pleased they went to someone who appreciated them.
I can understand your thinking. I've kept a lot of unlikely things that my Mum had and now, some 7 months later am so glad I did.. I can look at them and use them and feel happiness knowing she'd be pleased that I was getting use out of them. She was thrifty in that regard.
Cheers xx
this is a deeply satisfying post. Thank you for sharing your sensitive and caring thoughts. You are someone I would be happy to have as a neighbor.
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