GO AHEAD AND LAUGH

What can you do with a tiny safety pin? When an ornamental piece fell off a string that dangled from the collar of my pretty new blouse, all I had to do was think. What did my good-natured and practical mother-in-law teach me?

To put a string through anything or get elastic through a stitched band, she would attach a tiny safety pin to the end of the cord or elastic and wriggle it through to the other side. Voilà! My beautiful blouse is 100% ready to wear.

As for that tiny safety pin, it was right in the cup with the slogan, “World’s Best Little Sister,” which my brother Stu bought for me. The cup, decorated with a pretty pink butterfly, came in so handy. Rather than risk ruining it with daily usage, it sits proudly on my kitchen counter. I regularly refill it with little things that can come in handy.

There are items in there that have been unclaimed after hosting large parties, including one earring and a wig pin. This time, the wig pin was the perfect accompaniment to the little safety pin that made me smile when it popped out as I carefully flipped the cup and emptied its contents.

My father always saved containers of loose screws, nuts, and bolts. My mother had a large jar of buttons. Having lived through the Great Depression, their mindset dictated why go to the store and buy a package when one will do the trick.

A reason for writing my blog posts is to offer sage advice without preaching. You may say I have a screw loose, but I feel great having had the memories, the tools, and the ability to fix my blouse, one, two, three with no cost involved.

Maybe it will save one of our children a click on the internet; possibly, it will give them pause to think about their parents, grandparents, or others. If I haven’t taught it to them yet, or in case they don’t remember the tricks, I’m recording them in my blog posts for posterity.

The real question is, will the minimalists have to go out and buy a package of small safety pins to complete the job, or will they have a single pin needed to accomplish the task at hand. Good luck.

Cup from my brother Stu used to hold small gadgets

Here I am wearing the blouse the first time I held my grandson, required by the pandemic, two months after his birth - in my right arm is the World’s Best Big Sister