Little Things

Yes, we told you we'd keep on blogging, even though we closed the store, and here it's been a solid week since you heard from us! Cheryl's busy getting rid of her PG leftovers in a garage sale, and I'm working hard to ignore mine...or borrowing it to friends for grad parties! 

Actually, closing the store couldn't have come at a better time for me. God does work all these things out, you know. I jumped right from store closing mode to helping friends with their grad parties, helping an elderly relative to hospice care, and will soon be busy with a major surgery for one of my kids! Still haven't even gotten my flower pots planted:(

But onto cute things and deep things...

As I found myself, once again, sifting through someone's life possessions, I was struck with how personal valuables used to be small.

Houses were small, cars were small, coffee cups were small...people were smaller! Small things were valued, details and craftsmanship were appreciated. Compare this tiny frame of family pictures to a large screen TV!

Not only were things smaller, everything moved at a much slower pace. This tiny, purse size book for stamps amazed me for it's diminutive size, but then also reminded me of a time when letters in the mail were the standard form of communication, rather than email. Instead of carrying around a cell phone to communicate, stamps in a purse insured wishing a good friend, "Happy Birthday", without having to make a trip home or to the post office.

Suitcases were small. People had much smaller wardrobes, wore their clothes for many more years, and honestly didn't travel nearly as much as we do now.

What could be more old fashioned than a fancy pill box? Imagine carrying this pretty piece in your purse just in case you might need an aspirin for a headache. Honestly, my Altoids box is 3x this size! And the pills we are on in this country makes this little container really useless. 

The detailed, fancy handkerchiefs and the glass cosmetic case made me realize how far we've come in our disposable society. It seems like everything we consume creates something to throw away. It's much quicker to just throw something away than to wash it, repair it, restore it. 

Sigh.

Guess sometimes I long for a smaller, slower time. A time when everything isn't super-sized and uber-fast. 

And I'm glad that without the stress of another occasional and a store to be filled, I can enjoy this time to give my time and energies, instead, to family and friends. 

Because it's the little things that count.

Comments

[Kristi Pohl]

Just love this post, every little tiny bit of it. So glad you are enjoying your time, and wishing you both a wonderful summer!

[Lora Bloomquist]

Thanks, Kristi!