Lately I've been reading a lot about how today's young men and women aren't so interested in family hand-me-downs anymore, how grandma's china and silver bowls may not fit into current lifestyles. My friend Jean Sands, who passed away in 2016, wrote this poem about just this situation. I've taken her advice.

Saving For Good

At my age you don't save anything for good.

Now you use that little red purse from Croatia

given to you this Christmas that could be your last.

You take the gold jewelry from the drawer,

clasp the delicate bracelet around your wrist,

hang the gold filigree earrings on your lobes,

wear the best blouse you own to the grocer's.

You take the good China down from the shelf,

treat the sterling spoons and forks like plastic wear

with daily use.  You drink tea from that beautiful cup

you swore you'd pass on to your children,

lay the hand-made lace cloth across the kitchen table,

wear all of it out, use it all up.  This

is the time you were saving it for.


―Jean Sands (from her collection Close But Not Touching, Antrim House, 2017)

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