January 27, 2009

a new purpose


Once upon a time, this pretty little tin held macaroon cookies. My Gramma shared with me, and then, once the tasty cookies were gone, she gave me the tin... and I have held onto it for all of these years. This little girl, whose shy expression reminds me of... me, has travelled with me from home to home... three homes in Scituate, two in Marshfield, one in New York City, and now her second home here in Florida. Along the way she has stored many treasures for me... stickers... hair ties... playing cards... and the list goes on. I have never been able to part with her... although, there have been times I have considered it. I came across this special little tin in my sewing closet over the weekend, and once again thought... maybe it is her time. And then I wondered... is that little kitty sticker still in there?

Ahhh... yes... the squishy-oily kind of sticker that when touched created a kaleidoscope of color, and was once so special to me. And a unicorn, too. Remember when we used to collect stickers? I never could understand why people stuck them on paper in books... so they couldn't be used... so I usually kept mine with the backing on... in my tin... but never used them anyway. So here we were... this little girl and I. At a cross road, yet again. I am really trying... to keep only the things that I need... and that I love. And so I thought.... and thought some more. And then it came to me... I remembered the hours of enjoyment... spent milling through my mother's button box. Running my fingers through the buttons... and letting them spill through. Admiring the colorful buttons... and loving their shapes. Spotting a button that was perhaps an extra... from a dress made just for me by my Mom. Dreaming of new clothes that a favorite button might adorn. Yes... my little shy friend has a new purpose... and my buttons have a new home... a new home complete with a squishy kitty to snuggle with... and a unicorn to foster their dreams.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember the tin , the cookies, all the stickers and Mom's button box, it is a perfect choice. I haven't found my perfect button box. And I love that Oakley loves to go through my buttons. They go great with a tractor for construction. xoxox

Busy Bee Suz said...

This is so great...I too have so many little boxes and EVEN stickers (I know they won't stick anymore though)from my childhood...and teens...somethings you just HAVE to hold onto.
Like my Hello kitty paper clip. Yes. A paper clip. go figure.
Great post Dawn!!!

Jen said...

Old things made new. Sometimes we have just what we need, and don't even know it. Very nice!!

Cassie said...

What a nicely writen post.Almost musical.You've given me an idea.My buttons are all in little film canisters so I have about 10 of them.Consolidating into a tin would be smart.:0) thx.

emily freeman said...

What a fantastic post. I have my own collection of little girl tin type things. I'm so glad you decided to keep her. I know we can't keep everything, but this one seems to special to part with. Three cheers for sappy, sentimental girls like us!

Wendi said...

Love this post and the things that we all hold on to to help us remember the past. The oily stickers made me laugh...I spotted them before you even wrote about them and thought..why don't they make those anymore? (probably filled with toxic goo...how did we survive OUR childhoods?)