Granny's Pitcher

 Granny's pitcher had been around for a long time. She used to say that it  was a wedding present and  that she had decided as a young bride that she would use it everyday instead of letting sit in a cupboard with the other fancy  dishes. Her mother had given it to her and told her that  she should use it  instead of waiting for some special occasion. She said that too  often in life  people put their good things away  for some purpose in the future and all too often they get to the end of their lives realizing that they never enjoyed them. They regret not having had the pleasure of using  the fancy dishes, tablecloths, towels and other gifts they received because they thought that they were just too nice for everyday use.  So when Granny  started out in life, she took out the pitcher and set it on the kitchen counter and she used it.  Some days it was filled with water  to set on the table for her husband and the neighbours who had come to help him shear the sheep. When the children were small, it was filled with fresh milk and passed around the table. Some days she filled it with wild flowers and sat it on the windowsill. It always made her smile  to see it  sitting there as it was always so pretty.
When her mother passed away, she filled it with lemonade and served her friends a cool drink  when they stopped by to visit.   She knew it would have made her mother happy to see it fulfilling another purpose.  In the winter time, when the children came in from playing in the snow, hot chocolate filled their mugs  from the treasured pitcher.

The years passed and as an old lady Granny found herself in the big old house alone. The children were now all grown up and  busy raising their own families.  She bought each of them their own fancy pitcher and told them to use it everyday. Years later  the children gathered at her house after her funeral. Looking around  they found the pitcher sitting on  top of the fridge.  Inside they found a note and a sealed envelope.

My dear children,

You have found my  pitcher, the one thing I used everyday since I married your father.  It was always a reminder of my  mother and the wisdom that she passed on to me about living life to the fullest.  It brought me so much happiness. I remember pouring  the milk over your bowls of porridge  in the morning before you went to school.    Remember the daisies sitting in it every summer and  the time we brought home the goldfish  and used it for an aquarium for a couple of days.  I will never forget when  I used it to fill it with  cold water  so that I could wipe your foreheads when you had a  fever or when I would stick your hand in when someone burnt themselves.  We did have fun didn't we. This pitcher now belongs to  you Ellie, for you are the baby and the only one who asked for it.  I expect that you will use it everyday  and that when you  invite your brothers and sisters over for a visit, you will serve them  some lemonade in it.  During these last few years, I  still used it everyday by reaching up and putting  a dollar in it.  It made me happy because I knew that someday you would all gather here like this and you would find my note and this gift.  Every morning I would look forward to putting in the money because it gave me and the pitcher a purpose. I felt like a child doing this and I would smile just imagining this moment. I hope I am somewhere  so that I can see your reactions.

And so  open the envelope and  you will find a key to a safety deposit box  where you will find  my final gift to you.  Spend it wisely together as a family by going on that  trip to Ireland that I always meant to take.  Never mind your schedules and excuses. Just do it for time waits for no one.   I love you all so much and I want you to know that  each of you were a special gift in my life. Enjoy the trip and make some great memories. Have fun.

Love Mom  

 A beautiful song  to end this blog post......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4NS7gChzvk


 Have a great day ... Mary!