The Record Keeper

When my sisters and I were small, we spent many days at my grand-parents farmhouse. We are standing in front of an enclosed stairway. To the right is a parlor which my grandmother called the little room. Here she had a beautiful piece of furniture called a secretary. Starting from the top of the piece was an oval mirror and hat rack. Next came a slanted desk with three drawers below. To the left were shelves covered by a curved glass.

In the second drawer, we found all sorts of scarves and linnens. We were allowed to play with anything in this drawer. In those days, women and girls wore scarves around their heads and tied at the chins, babushka style.

The scarf I am wearing on the left was black and white shiny material. The one my sister is wearing on the right was white with flowers and a deep blue border. It was very soft. We spent many happy hours being princesses, ladies, and brides. My heart and mind go back to those days so many times.

The beautiful secretary now resides in my living room. It provided the backdrop for many important occacions at the old house we used to have as my children were growing up. For all these reasons and more, I treasure it. Because of all the pictures taken before it, I call it my record keeper. What do you do to catch a memory?