as my Nonne would say, "arrivederci"

3 things broke this week that were very important to me.

1.) A vase that I gave my grandmother while I was in college. When she became sick, she wrote on the bottom that it should find it's way back to me once she passed away. I heard a crash and ran downstairs to find it in a million little pieces.

2.) An antique glass measuring tablespoon that my grandma had also given to me. It was my grandpas. I'm not sure what he used it for, but it was beautiful and you could tell it was very old. I turned on the garbage disposal to hear broken glass banging around inside. When I stopped and started to pull it out, the rare shade of golden yellow glass immediately sunk my heart.

3.) An old picture of my grandparents. I found it soaking wet inside the frame. (I know we have this picture scanned and will very easily be able to replace it, but the symbolizm of it being destroyed along with the other things my grandparents gave me made me burst out in emotion.)

I'm not a material girl, by any means.

In fact, I care very little about things to the point that it can frustrate my husband and sometimes look careless to others. I've just never had a huge attachment to anything... expensive or cheap. For the most part, I can purge things with ease and give things away without giving it a second thought. There are, however, things I have that remind me of special people... and people I do care about. Nothing this week was destroyed on purpose. I have 2 boys under the age of 3 that are extremely curious and can climb anything... I am starting to get used to letting things go. These particular things were hard to swallow because for at least 2 of them, I will never be able to get them back... which in turn reminds me that I will never be able to get the people back that gave them to me. It's sobering.. but the reality is that these things don't help or hurt the amount of loss I feel when I think about my grandparents. They are just things that remind me of them. So, as I am collecting myself and debriefing myself on this tragedy with my entry to this blog, please be reminded to hug a little longer today... be a little more patient with the people God has graciously place in your life.... hold on to the conversations and laughs you have with your kids, your spouse, and your family... give thanks to God today for allowing you to make moments into memories, even when sometimes those memories turn into tears.

Selah.