Jar Of Buttons

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. 

"Why Do You Need All These Rocks?"

Me:  "Why do you need all these rocks laying all over the place?"
Katie: "They are not rocks, they are stones."
Me:  "Same thing is it not?"
Katie:  "No, it is not the same thing."
Me:  "Ooooookaaayyyy?"

Turns out the difference between a rock and a stone is that a rock is a part of nature, a natural structure from the earth, while a stone is created from a rock and has been polished, trimmed down, smoothed out, "dressed up" of sorts.  Rocks are a gift from God and mother nature, stones are made from those rocks and used for construction purposes. She told me!  Lesson learned.

When my now wife Katie, then girlfriend, first moved in with me we did our best to incorporate both our possessions into one household.  A mix of her things and a mix of my things and to be honest about it, it turned out to be less of a task then I felt it would.  I knew I would have to give up my man cave atmosphere and let her bring a touch of lace and frill to our place.  Little by little she brought over a few personal possessions here and there.  I am sure Katie felt the same way about the little things I held onto as I found myself feeling about some of the things she hung onto.  Thankful neither one of us could be considered hoarders (keepers of all things) and both of us tend to be neat freaks (her more so than me which I find odd).

Katie is a Yogi and practices her yoga positions faithfully.  A big part of Katie's yoga is meditation which includes different forms of relaxation exercises.  One of those methods involve stones, bigger than pebbles but smaller than boulders, that are used for various forms of relations to the yogi's of the meditation world.  I tease her endlessly about the stones she has laying around everywhere but they really are not a bother to me at all.  They contain various words on them and depending on the day, Katie will pick one up and put it in her pocket to help calm her over an issue that may be bothering her.  When her grandfather passed away recently she laid one of  the stones inside his casket for him to take on his next journey beyond his journey on earth.  The stone contained the word "eternity", something her and her grandfather discussed days prior to his passing away.  She found comfort in that action, comfort in selecting that rock as a final gift to her grandfather.

 

 

    Each of us have our own way to handle the stress and difficult times in our lives.  I am reminded of that each day I walk through the rooms of our home and find Katie's stones sitting on a table, a dresser, a nightstand, a bathroom sink, or the kitchen counter.  As much grief as I give her about her stone collection something I never realized until we moved in our place together is that I have often given, and received, stones that contained words of comfort on them.  I carry a few things in my pockets daily that help me get through one more day.  When I feel restless or ill at ease, even when I have no idea what it is about, I reach into my pocket and hold onto my cross, or my pin, or that slightly smaller stone with the word FAITH written on it. 

 

In life we find our own ways to cope and our own ways to relieve stress and the pressures of life we find weighing us down.  Some of go dark and turn to drugs and alcohol, some of carry stones that are symbolic of what our current struggle is.  Some of us turn to God and build on our faith for survival.  Some of us lean on family and friends to help us through it all.  Regardless of how we choose to cope, everyone goes through times in their lives when they need a little extra something to help us through it.  

Katie's stone collection is all about keeping balance in her life.  Just as my writing keeps balance in mine.  My dad Jake, he has boxing.  Misfit Charlie has cooking and baking.  Even my eight year old nephew Jimmy has balance in his life by doing workbook pages every day.  Everyone needs balance and how they find that balance is what they find comfort and joy in outside of their normal existence.  How do you stay balanced?  What do you turn to when you feel unsettled or uneasy?  Hopefully what you turn to is something on the positive side that helps you deal with your struggle rather then avoid it by turning to something unpleasant. 

If you struggle with finding balance in your life, don't forget that God is an option and through prayer you can build your faith and your trust in Him that will help you through anything you face in life that you feel you cannot cope with.  God can direct you to a more balanced life, even if it through collect rocks.  There is a direct link between prayer and meditation ...