Who would think two jars full of odds and ends buttons would provide hours of fun and joy? Not only does Katie have a fine collection of stones, she also came with a collection of buttons. It puzzled me why someone who is not into sewing or creating clothing would collect buttons. It is something I have teased her about endlessly ... until this weekend.
My brothers wife broke her arm and Katie and I have been helping out by watching their two daughters, Olivia (4) and Jaci (2). They have been staying with us in our home and because we are childless all we have as far as kid entertainment is a few board games and card games. They brought a couple of their favorite toys with them but as time wore on they became bored with what we had on hand for them to play with. Even the movie's became boring for them and we read the same books over and over until the girls could read them back from memorizing the story.
We were sitting in the living area and the girls were getting restless. Katie went to her junk closet and pulled out her two jars of buttons. She laid down a rug and invited the girls to sit on the rug with her so they could sort out the buttons. I was skeptical at first, thinking this will last ten minutes but I left them alone and continued to work on my laptop. I listened as the girls sorted the buttons by color then lined them up making a rainbow out of the color buttons. When they were done with that they used the buttons to make a circle and create funny faces inside the circle. They created a heart out of buttons and even but "Jett loves Katie" inside the heart, all in buttons.
A little over an hour had passed and the girls were still sitting on the rug with their Aunt Katie, playing with two jars full of buttons. Another half of an hour later they were done. Or at least I thought they were done. They were starting to put the buttons back into the jars, one button at a time. I could hear the clink of the buttons as they dropped in the jar.
"Aunt Katie, where did you get all these buttons?", Olivia asked.
"I got them from everywhere I guess", as she picked up a heart button, "this one came from a sweater Poppy gave me when I was probably about you age", she said.
"Why did you keep it?", Olivia said.
"Oh I don't know really, I supposed I liked it enough to keep it when it fell off my sweater. I like having it though, it reminds me of when Poppy was alive."
Button after button, before it was dropped into the jar, Olivia wanted to know where it came from. Katie did not have an answer for all of the buttons, but for many she did. Katie had memories in those buttons that she may not have ever visited had she not had those two jars of buttons. Like my box of hockey pucks, thrown into the box for one reason or another and not really thought of until I pull it out to add another, or take one out. My first goal on this team or that team, the puck from the game where my goal won the game for my team. The puck from the game where my jersey auctioned off for the most money. Puck after puck revealed to me a memory of something I felt was special at the time.
I suspect Olivia will want to start her own button collection. She asked Aunt Katie if she could have one of her buttons so she could have a good memory of the day they sat and played with all those buttons. Earlier today she asked me if I had a shirt with a loose button on it and if it falls off can she have it? "The shirt I asked?" She rolled her eyes at me as she said "NO, THE BUTTON, why do you have to be that way?" She wanted the button because it was something from me.
I was really happy that Katie had those two jars full of buttons and even happier that I knew now that those jars full of buttons were memories of her past that she has carried with her through her life. I hope I get to witness her fill another jar of buttons as we continue our life as a couple. I hope to help make great memories with her that wants her to collect buttons along the way so she doesn't forget any of the moments we share together.
