On - Common Causes
My grandma’s salt and pepper shakers, most of them quite old, nearly filled the upper shelf of Mother’s antique hutch,
And as the words, “I finally found a set I didn’t have...and like I far to too often do…I prob’ly paid too much,”
Flooded through my mind I quietly stood there...deep in thought...scanning through the job-related-samples on display,
More concerned with which of them she’d felt to be her best - than when or where she’d picked them up, or what she’d had to pay.
I’m sure she never realized how many times she’d said that, and though a few were fairly scarce, most of them were cheap.
And very near as many times I’d heard her tell my Mom, “The shakers, though not valuable, are something you can keep
To help you to remember me. They represent our sharing a very lovely common cause. They’re something you can touch!”
Mom, you see, would help her dig through shops from time to time, and now…what they’d collected...what they both had loved so much...
Sat there, staring back at me...welling up my eyes. I’d never actually pondered on them passing down to me.
Now I - an only child, was faced with - keeping them or not...and the profit margin’s tough to beat when the goods for sale - were free.
Opening up the china closet’s door, I started counting what had taken Mom an’ Granny half their lives to build,
Wondering how they’d take it if they’d known - before they died - the one thing on the list of all the things that I’d been willed
That didn’t mean that much to me would be their - pride an’ joy! My modern hutch...now overflowing...had no empty shelf
For a bunch of salt and pepper sets...but I was suddenly answered, when...glancing at some photographs...I paused to ask myself,
“How could I even think about selling off an heirloom? Regardless of their values, is it right to let them go?”
Well...by tossin’ out an easy chair...I squeezed the damn thing in, and - strangely - almost right away...the pile began to grow!
I credit seeing those photographs for helping me decide whether I oughta sell the lot, or keep them - for my kid.
The loving smiles on Mom’s and Granny’s faces brought me ‘round, and as you might expect, they’re tickled pink with what I did.
My husband...who is neither quick to spend nor sentimental...always has a hissy-fit when me and Connie Sue
Proudly place another set of shakers in that china...but both of us, I guarantee you - well before we’re through -
Mean to do our best to fill, at least, another shelf! Being our only daughter... and a pampered one to boot...
I perceive collecting them definitely worth the cost, and...just as Mom and Gran had done...our means to follow suit!
Believe you me - I’m living proof - the simplest “common cause” can build a bond with those you love...the same as Mother’s had
With Granny...and now will with us...which...as the years go by...will help us cope with problems we confront when times are bad.
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