Memories Stored in a Little Blue Box

My blue contribution to this week's Smiling Sally's Blue Monday. Blue is a always a challenge for me. Except for turquoise and the deep teals, my space doesn't come to life in the blue family. This photo, however, holds an especially fond "blue" memory. Sweet memories are balm to the soul.

Before sharing a little explanation of its current use, and my sweet memory about this box, please allow me to digress for a paragraph here. It's all a part of the story.

From previous posts you may know that my son and d-i-l are adopting two children from Ethiopia. The cost of adoption is quite high -- While most adoptive families are willing to make some enormous personal sacrifices to bring their children home, they just don't have big enough piggy banks to meet the financial requirements without help of family, friends, and even some they don't know. As a family we have some pretty creative fundraisers in the works. . . what you see here is just a glimpse of the makings of some pretty bracelets that will soon be showing up in my etsy shop with all profits going to their adoption fund. (Hope you don't mind that I shared this tidbit here.)

One of the big things that David and Amy have done since they married six years ago, and are still doing to an even greater extent, is shopping the thrift shops, repurposing many items they already have and keeping life simple. That thrifty attitude is catching on big with many people today after being lost for a time in the prosperity we enjoyed for so many years as a country. I remember that the attitude permeated everything my mother did in her life, as it did in most of the members of her generation having lived through the great depression. The memories attached to this precious blue box are a great example.

This was mom's greeting card box. She originally purchased it when I was a small child (and it did originally contain greeting cards). She kept that box in the middle desk drawer always filled with cards that she found at a bargain price somewhere. She rarely bought a new box -- probably more like she found a bin where she could get 2 dozen for 50cents on clearance. I remember this box always full with lots of choices for any occasion, and I remember the box being opened often to choose a special sentiment for friends and family whether it was a birthday, a new baby, an anniversary, or other encouragement. Mom enjoyed brightening others' days with cheerful greetings often accompanied by one of her handmade gift treasures.

Why I kept this little blue box, I'm not really sure except perhaps for one of the cherished and happy moments memories of a somewhat tumultuous childhood. Mom's penchant for repurposing (all though we just often weren't very appreciative of that facet of her personality at the time) may be the very reason. As I've been cutting small fabric pieces for these handmade treasures as one of my contributions to the adoption $$$, I was looking for something around the house to repurpose that would hold all these little pieces and keep them from becoming a jumbled mess. Voila! This little blue box is exactly the right width for these little strips of fabric and keeps them and the memories neatly at my fingertips while working on one at a time. Fifty+ years later this blue box is still in use, and I believe mom would be quite pleased.

As I've been visiting around others' blogs this morn as well, leaving my thoughts and comments, I realized that this just might fit in with Today's Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality as well.