The wisdom of age… or not
I wrote about the inspiration for my button bracelets in one of my first ever blog posts. My granny always used to have a huge box of buttons that I would play with as a kid, and when she passed away I inherited her collection. A couple of months ago when I was visiting my grandad, he asked whether I still had her buttons, and what I was doing with them. Surprised that he had remained blissfully unaware of my new found obsession with buttons (I’m sure I’ve bored everyone else on the planet to tears with it), I vowed to take one of my button charm bracelets with me next time I paid him a visit.
And so I did, last weekend. I took this bracelet, as this is the one I’m most attached to and I guessed that he might remember the big blue buttons from years ago.
I was right, he did, and he commented on how much Granny had liked them. And then, in true grumpy old man style, he then he went on to say “Well what a waste of all those buttons. Buttons are for holding shirts and coats together, not for wearing on your wrist”!!!
I tried in vain to appeal to his ‘waste not, want not’ way of thinking, by suggesting that there were so many buttons that I may as well make use of them somehow, but there was no give. He had said his piece, I was dismissed.
So, I consider myself told! Whatever was I thinking? Let’s all stick our buttons back in their dark and dinghy boxes and tuck them away in a cupboard for our grandchildren to inherit! Heaven forbid we should celebrate their colours and wear them with pride!
I comfort myself with the idea that somewhere up there my Granny is pulling a face behind his back and saying “don’t listen to him, daft old thing”.
Love you, Grandad 