In honor of Mother’s Day, during the month of May, my blog is dedicated to memories of my mother and grandmother.
Mom’s button tin had finally arrived. My excitement grew over the treasures within as I lifted the lid on the candy tin. The items inside triggered cherished memories of my mother’s loving heart.
As a young child I would cuddle with my mother while she did the mending. The tin entertained me as I fingered each button, sorting them into colors, shapes and sizes.
“Mommy, did this striped one come from one of your dresses?” She nodded and told me about the seersucker dress she wore to work at the bank during the initial years of World War Two before I was born.
A small white cloth-covered button with silver metallic threads took me back. It belonged
to a dressy blouse Mom had worn on New Year’s Eve. She had looked so pretty dressed up for a party. Her rhinestone earrings sparkled as she put them on after applying bright red lipstick to her full lips. She patted my nose briefly with her powder puff, as she smiled. I opened her compact to see my nose in the mirror.
Still time-traveling, a gold button took me into my later elementary years. My grandmother used it when she sewed a spectacular dress for me one Fall. The brilliant golds, rusts and yellows of the leaf-patterned dress made me feel like a princess. Her love expressed itself through countless gifts of clothes, creative birthday cakes, and toys of all kinds.
Another discovery brought me to my teens. Before my delighted eyes, I spied a large, navy button with an anchor indentation. My pea coat from high school days! This was a navy wool double-breasted jacket copied from the ones sailors wore which became popular during the 50″s. I flashed back on the fright I experienced the night my best friend and I saw the scariest movie ever–Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.” I watched it “scootched” down in the seat, peering through the button hole of my coat.
Patriotic buttons with star-shapes colored red, white and blue made me recall matching outfits I had sewn for my son and daughter when they were two and eight. Sweet memories flooded back of their early childhoods. The kids and I strolled to the park in the morning, made cookies and crafts during the afternoon, and snuggled while reading at bed time. We took turns reading Dr. Seuss books or “Little House on the Prairie.”
What a fantastic trip to the past through buttons. Mom’s button box will always be a treasure to me. Perhaps someday my granddaughter will ask to look through the buttons. Another time-travel begins €¦
Dianna
Sharing the Fruit of Maturity
