"Little Boxes"

Today was a day for searching for two items that are "temporarily lost"....hoping they show up...soonish.

1.) I have a little case with cellophane/plastic windows that I keep credit cards in when I don't want to carry very many. From time to time it has been hidden around the house and now I have to admit I have no idea where it is. Hopefully it will reveal itself to me tonight while I sleep. I've been through every drawer in my dresser and you know what that led to...yes, tidying all the contents. Tidying was followed by a gigantic allergy fit. I might/would have been worth it if I'd found the case. The really wonderful part of it was I got caught up in the drawer that I keep all the cards and letters from my kids from when they were really young and letters from much older people. Letters are a rarity now when we send off an email or leave a message on their voicemail to let them know how we are, they are, the dog-cat-bird, etc. are these days.
I found a letter from my youngest, you know that really mean one that keeps everyone in line and minding their ps and qs...well, this was a letter to Santa about the loss of her stocking. We/she had no idea where it was, but had put up another on the mantle, and she just wanted him to know that the one with her name on it was temporarily "missing", but hers was the last one on the left hanging on the mantle. The missing items seem to have been going on around here for ages...and it moved with us when we came to this house! Santa did find the substitute stocking after all, so it worked out ok. That drawer must be bottomless. I found items from my entire married life in it. We have been married 45 years....you understand now how I began to wonder how many wonderful things there might be in that drawer. I found letters from my son while he was still living here that weren't on so happy a note. He was regretful after he had done some things that were hurtful. It got him in the habit of writing and the first year he lived in Georgia on his own we did get some letters from him from time to time.

I found my very special "spurs". They went on boots, like back in the 70s and had a little jingle bell on a chain that latched to the other side when the chains went around the boot. It sounded like I had on spurs. They have conchos on them, too. I probably won't try wearing them this year...but it was so cool to find them, and to remember how cool I thought I was when I wore them. I thought I was some Hot Stuff when I had those on. Or I would be Clint Eastwood in one of the spaghetti westerns. Oh my, we loved those movies....and my little fake spurs.

I found retirement party invitations and pictures from and of various friends and family from over the years. Also there were obituaries. I found one of my graduation invitations I had meant to send to my friend who died last December. I didn't get it mailed but she would have loved it. I'd written in it "Hey! I've gotten this far!" We didn't attend the same universities. She cracked me up...and still does when I think about her getting so mad after a Spanish test. We were both taking Spanish classes, but didn't have the same instructors. On her test one of the vocabulary words was "What is the word for floor?". She thought and thought and thought some more, for Barbara was a perfectionist, and finally put something down. She knew it was wrong, but alas couldn't bear to leave the space blank. FYI, the word is piso and you have seen that word a million times if you live anywhere in the southwest part of the US. Piso mojado means Wet floor and if indeed the floor has just been mopped there will be a sign in both English and Spanish telling you so and not to be a dummy and fall down. She nearly screamed when I told her. She was funny like that.

I found a little box I barely remembered that my aunt gave me when I was 15. It holds a mirror and a small lipstick. It has mother of pearl inlay on the top of the box. The lipstick is mostly still there, and will remain so, but that might have been during the time I was thinking of becoming a nun. I'd seen the movie and all and knew there wasn't that much to it and I'd look like Audrey Hepburn. The problem of becoming Catholic wasn't all that hard. I could be a tiresome and difficult child a lot of the time.

Somehow or other I've forgotten what the other thing was that had lost itself, but I'm sure I'll find it tomorrow. I'm pretty sure it wasn't that important. Sometimes I have help from my husband hiding things for me.

Hope you have a wonderful Monday. BTW-My sister watches "Weeds". I didn't get in on it at first and didn't much like it when I did try to watch a couple of times. She got so excited about the song that is sung in the opening. She was so enthusiastic about it, I hated to tell her that Pete Seeger sang that song WAY BACK when! Here is a link to Wikipedia about it all. I was in my Folk Music Period back then...well, a little later than 1962 when it was written. Now some thirty + singers have sung it on that show. I thought I'd taught her better, but there is such an age difference and she lived with my Dad's family...and was like maybe 12 years old when it was written. And OMG....Pete Seeger is 90 years old. Who woulda thunk it! Happy 90th, Pete.