Keepsakes of the Heart

March 21, 2013

Today is my granddaughter Katrina's 10th birthday so Happy Birthday to a young lady who is just as beautiful inside as she is out!  It would be nice to have hopped a private jet and flew over to help you celebrate today.  I can wish can't I?  I know you're having a great day and your party will be a smash hit!

The gentle breezes of night air are whistling about the cottage.  I forgot to replace a burned out bulb outside today, so I cannot look far into the back yard.  Sadie is snoring peacefully and, rest assured, she would let me know if anything was amiss that would cause us harm.  I heard thunder earlier and am hoping that we will get some rain.  My gardens would love that and so would I!

Today I felt rather melancholy.  I'd had a few days of severe Occipital Nerve pain that I just couldn't get away from.  I would get so worn out from fighting the pain that I was not a good person for me to be around.  I hate those days.  Can you relate?  Most of the time, I am able to use the old "mind over matter," but that just wasn't working.  Today, the pain subsided but I was just flat out exhausted.

I woke early, had a hot cup of coffee, read some Psalms and The Texas Gardener and fell back to sleep.  Later, I put some soft jazz on, lit some Market III candles, took a soak in my claw foot tub, and reread the book GIFT FROM THE SEA.  I filled the bird feeder with some tasty fruit bits and nuts and the song birds went nuts.  They were singing and munching and filling the air with their voices.  My neighbor came over with some dinner for me.  It was a great day to let the healing juices fill my body.  Oh goodness, do I hear thunder?  Some rain would be the perfect ending to a rather soulful day!

Facebook has been a great way for me to reconnect with old friends, family and make new friends.  Often times the keepsakes of the heart are actually memories triggered by comments or photos.  There have been some photos posted of my hometown, Glenwood, Minnesota that I am feasting on.  It was such a grand city full of wonderful architecture, schools, churches and stores.  Since folks tended to shop close by (travel by a Model-T or horse limited things!!) this little city was a hub for many.  I especially enjoy the photo of a hot air balloon going up and the local bandstand where folks gathered to listen to local and school bands.  My family roots grow deep there ... the keepsakes of the heart started in the 1800's for my father's family and further back into the 1400's when my mother's family came to America.

I tend to think that keepsakes of the heart aren't things but those special places, times, and people who come into our lives.  Today, I was instant messaging with a dear friend from high school.  Her comments made tears well up in my eyes.  I had no idea, how deeply I had touched her life.  Since my memories of my childhood years are so scattered, it was wonderful to hear from another, that I mattered enough to even remember my handwriting.  Why is it that I listened to hurtful people with agendas of their own who tore at my soul and pounded my body?  Why was I drawn to those who didn't like me and treated me as if I were a clump of dirt?  I was just a sweet, caring person who thought I needed to work my way into people's hearts.  I wasn't good enough to be loved for myself.  I'm glad that my today's are different!

I also had a message today from my cousin who has been touring Europe this Winter.  It's those surprise messages that brighten my day and cause me to take out another keepsake in my heart.  Cousin Gary, maybe you should stay in Spain awhile longer ... I hear it's still Winter in Minnesota!!  It will be great one day to hear all about his trip and adventures!

Since it's my granddaughter's birthday, I have been taking out the keepsakes in my heart remembering when her mom went into labor and watching the video of her birth.  It was such a joy making that trip to Minnesota to hold her in my arms and ooh and aah over her.  What a gift she has been and is for our family.  Being a long distance grandmother is for the birds.  I am grateful that her mom keeps me updated on school and her activities.  Hopefully, I will be seeing her in June but if not in June, for sure in November when she comes to Texas.

My grandmother lived to just short of her 100th birthday.  Can you imagine all the keepsakes she pondered in her heart?  Just blogging about my own keepsakes makes me feel so blessed and grateful for those special times and people who have left footprints on my life and heart.  It's nice to know I matter and it's important to let those people who have been so instrumental in my life know they matter.

Now, that being said, maybe you (myself included) need to pick up pen and paper or the phone and make some calls.  The letters my father wrote to my mother in WWII mean so much because I know that in the tough times of my mother's life and in my own, we needed to hear about the keepsakes in his heart.

Always known you are loved and prayed for ... YA YOU!

Miss Dottie

PS  "The heart, like the mind, has a memory.  And in it are kept the most precious keepsakes." ~~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

PSS  The gospel writer Luke has a special attraction to Mary and her pondering heart.  I As a mother, I know Mary kept the events of Jesus birth and life treasuring all things.  We can only imagine her pondering of the keepsakes in her heart at the foot of the cross.  Her time with her son could never be taken away yet but for a moment those keepsakes were all she had to hang on to until the resurrection.  God bless you this Easter Season!