Dry Cleaning My Past.

I’ve loved vintage/antique before it was popular.  I’ve loved shabby chique before it was popular.  I’ve loved green jadeite glass before it was popular (more like before Martha Stewart made it popular). I’ve loved to up-cycle furniture before it was popular. I've loved sentimental things for always.....so here is my dry cleaning past moving to today.

My Mom used to let me play with her bridesmaid dresses from the late 50’s – 60’s.  Sadly she got rid of most of them, but one yellow one remained and I recently captured it from the bag of clothes my niece used to play dress up with just like I did when I was little.  She also had her wedding dress in the dress-up box a little rough for wear.  The wedding dress was made by my deceased aunt.  I was too tall to wear it, but still cherish it.  So I hauled them home from Canada and they sat at my place.

 

Finally – in a cleanup mode, I took them to the cleaners….yikes, you can tell I don’t do my laundry this way!  Sticker shock.  I shelled out to have these dresses cleaned and pressed.  Now to save the wedding dress in hopes one day maybe one of my daughters will wear it on her wedding day, or a granddaughter….or not.  No longer a “dress up” play item I steamed my memories back to life.  It gave me satisfaction to do this.  You could say I dry cleaned my past.

 

 

Some people save and cherish old items of the past with sentimental fervor – I guess I’m one of those.  Others want things new and un-cluttered of reminders of the past.  I’m a little of both, but I know I’m very sentimental too.  I’m a true mix of my brothers; one had no use for the old and cleaned up everything!  The other keeps too much stuff (yup – you know who you are!).  I loved and love them both dearly.  My little bro is more a little of both like me too I think, but more sentimental about a tractor than some dishes or dresses! 

 

As my Mom moves to the city, she calls me about this or that….I’ve a few too many boxes collecting at my sis-in-law’s place and little bro’s place…..she describes things to me and I go “toss it” or “Yup, want that.”  **Sigh**  She too is dealing with the past as we remember the passing of my Dad in June, 2011.  Where has the time gone?  I miss him still and my heart aches to admit how much of a hole we have from his passing.   Grief not as fresh as it was, still leaves its sting.  

Our past is our past – even if we dry clean it some of the stains and tears still remain.  Reminders of the journey we are on, marks that makes us who we are today.  We all age.  Deterioration visits us all.

Only our Savior gives us the promise of forever.

 

^{Ecclesiastes 3:14-15}

¹⁴ I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

¹⁵ Whatever is has already been,
and what will be has been before;
and God will call the past to account.