When I first moved back to Ky to be with Mom at the end of '06 I spent days and days going through years of accumulation of plastic & paper grocery bags, bread bags, small plastic containers that had held everything from butter to coleslaw and just about everything that can be bought and carried home from Walmart. She sat right there and closely watched every move I made and questioned my decision to throw away virtually all of her pointless saving of more stuff than I would have ever imagined.
I commented about this one night during our small group Bible study and since most of the folks in our group are my age or a bit older, they just laughed at me because they had already been through this too. One dear sister helped me understand it all. She said, "You have to realize that your Mom's generation experienced the Great Depression and learned to keep and repair everything. They threw nothing away, out of necessity." Now that was a 'light bulb' moment for me. I have learned to appreciate the frugality of my parents and respect the environment they had to deal with. BUT, it doesn't make me want to hoard stuff I no longer have any use for in the fear, as Mom said to me over and over, "I MIGHT NEED IT SOMEDAY." At some point you run out of any space to keep all that stuff and it just becomes useless clutter. But, that's just my opinion, not shared by everyone.
On October 26, 1999, Mom wrote something in her journal that underscores the above mindset of what Tom Brokaw described as The Greatest Generation. She titled it BEAUTIFUL ROBE -
"We have had many wonderful holiday seasons as family and Harold and I had our great times too. On December 25, 1980 he gave me a wine colored robe for Christmas. I am wearing the robe right now and have cherished it through all these 19 years. It is still like new and I still wear the same size. That is unbelievable to be 140 lbs and 80 years old, alone for 8 years and still wearing this best gift of my life.
That same holiday I gave him his favorite pair of shoes, which he wore the rest of his life. We were always very practical and enjoyed every day together. Our successful marriage of 54 years together was the BEST! THE VERY BEST!
Now, I live alone in our home enjoying every day and never lonely. We have the best family in the whole wide world. Everywhere they live, we still are very much in touch and much love for each other."
She still has that robe and although she has lost so much weight she hasn't worn it in a few years, it still hangs in her closet. She just kept sewing it back up over the years whenever it required attention. To her it wasn't just an old red robe. It represented something far more important than how it looked or how 'out of style' it might have grown. To her it represented a durable life lived with loving care, the best gift she ever received from her hero.
Today we read and hear often that this generation is the Disposable Generation. We tend to throw everything away if it becomes inconvenient or no longer works the way it once did, or we no longer have any use for it. We buy stuff we cant afford and don't need to impress people we don't even like very much. Maybe we could all take a page from Amazing Mema's book of life and lovingly appreciate the time worn symbols of what truly makes life great. What will you wear, look at or read at 80 years old that still gives you joy and memories that stir something essential in your spirit?
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