If It's Broken, Keep It

Do you ever keep old, broken items? I do keep some and I'd love to tell y'all it all depends on the item and whether or not it can be repaired but that's not necessarily true. I do not keep broken items for parts or to hope that, one day, it can be repaired or just to say I have it or because I'm too lazy to toss it. That drives me insane. But I have been known to keep broken items for no other than sentimental reasons...

• but it was Grandmother's
• but it reminds me of when I was a kid
• it belonged to insert-daughter's-name-here
• I used that when insert-special-event-here
• insert-loved-ones-name-here brought me that back from  insert-pace-here

Yeah, I will keep things broken or not purely for reasons like those. I am a sentimental fool. 

I have kept Christmas ornaments that have fallen off the tree and broken just enough that I can apply a dab of super glue to put it back together but I've also kept ornaments for which I lost the broken piece because it belonged to my grandmother or one of the lovelies or reminded me of an ornament from my childhood. But I want credit for not keeping any that fall and shatter beyond repair. Ha! Seriously, I want credit for that. 

I'll also take some credit for not keeping broken glasses or cups because who drinks from broken glasses or cups? The thing that causes me to SMH is I might have repaired some enough to place it on a shelf and use as a reminder of some sentimental event or loved one. And as a dust catcher. 

Somehow one of the girl's Christening gowns never made it to a preservation box and it is looking rough to say the least. Have a tossed it? Nope. There is no way I can toss that thing. If nothing else, the quilter sister can use it for my next quilt. #ahem. 

Do I toss the basket full of toys Tucker never plays with because he's a one toy dog? Nope. I think about donating them and then I think about how I might need to look at them one day when my pup crosses the bridge which is ridiculous but that's how my mind works or fails me, whichever. 

Have I tossed or donated toys the grandkiddos have outgrown? Nope.
Are there broken toys or toys with missing pieces in there? Yep.

I really do not like clutter and I have a small house so keeping broken items around isn't the best idea but I do it anyway.

I promise I am not a hoarder I'm a keeper of sentiment. It took me nearly 30 years to purge the attic but most of that stuff is GONE! There isn't stuff everywhere around here and everything has a place and mostly stays in it's place unless Bug and/or Baby R have been over but that's a grandkid/grandparent thing which means it doesn't count. #amiright? 

And then there's this:

I Will Keep Broken Things

I will keep
Broken
Things:
The big clay
Pot
With raised
Iguanas
Chasing
Their
Tails; 
Two
Of their
Wise

Heads
Sheared
Off; 

I will keep
Broken
things:
The old
Slave
Market
Basket
Brought
To my
Door

By Mississippi
A jagged
Hole
Gouged
In its sturdy
Dark
Oak
Side.

I will keep
Broken
things:
The memory
Of
Those
Long
Delicious
Night
Swims
With
You; 

I will keep
Broken
things:
In my house
There
Remains
An

Honored
Shelf
On which
I will
Keep
Broken
Things.

Their beauty
Is
They
Need
Not
Ever
Be 
'fixed.'

I will keep
Your
Wild
Free
Laughter
Though
It is now
Missing
Its
Reassuring
And
Graceful
Hinge.

I will keep
Broken
Things:

Thank you 
So much! 

I will keep
Broken
Things.

I will keep
You:

Pilgrim
Of
Sorrow.

I will keep
Myself. 

Alice Walker 


How many of Y'all keep broken things?

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