I’m very careful about what I take from the farm. I know what is mine. I also know there are some things no one would mind me taking…little things that don’t mean anything to anyone else but me. Anything bigger or more significant, I ask if it’s ok. For instance, I asked to have my grandparents’ bed. I was going to keep the dresser…I may still…but it definitely needs some work. I asked for the big round mirror in the living room. It used to hang on the other end of the wall, but the TV was taller than the mirror and it didn’t serve its purpose anymore. Grandma always brushed her hair out by that mirror. I have countless photos with that mirror in the background. I also asked for a small chair side table that my uncle made years ago. Well, technically Mr. FixIt asked me to ask my uncle if we could have it. 

I remember when my own mother died. I was living in Colorado and was here for a week for the funeral. I had to begin making arrangements for my brother’s living situation. The last evening before I went back to Colorado for a couple of weeks, I was heading to town from the farm. As I left the house, my aunt said she would go in and clean out mom’s house for me while I was gone. I assured her she didn’t need to do that, but she was quite insistent. We went back and forth over it for a while and, rather than argue, I stopped at the hardware store, bought new locks for the doors and installed them before I left town. 

I dropped a letter in the mail the day I flew home, explaining I needed to go through things and while I certainly appreciated the gift of her time, it was something only I could do. It was part of my grieving process. She was so incredibly angry…and hurt, I imagine. But, I knew she would not take no for an answer. It had to be this way. Because of that experience, I’ve been very careful here not to step on toes. While I have an emotional attachment to many things in this house, so do the rest of the family and they own the farm…not me. They’ve been very generous with me. And I’ve been so blessed to have the time here these last few years. That is a gift in and of itself.

I was cataloging some of the items that I wanted to remember before I brought them back to the farm yesterday afternoon. There was one thing I really wasn’t sure if I should just go ahead and keep or not. It was a travel golf putter that had a telescoping handle. I have no idea why my aunt had it, but I think Mr. FixIt is the only golfer in the family. I was showing it to him and he said he’d never seen anything like it. 

“I’d love to keep it, but I think Aunt Peeps would be really mad if I did.” I said.

She died a year ago.

Now, this is one of those things that are just too eerie to ignore and since I have a witness, you’ll just have to believe me that it really happened. As soon as I said Aunt Peeps would be mad, my Alexa device started playing “Happy” by Pharrell Williams…all on its own. Mr. FixIt and I looked at each other…mouth gaped open and eyes wide. I squealed and started dancing around the living room….laughing. My aunt was no nonsense…you didn’t sit around and cry in your beer. You just got HAPPY!

Ok, ok…I’ll keep it. Thanks, Aunt Peepsie!

(You can watch the Official Music Video for Happy…HERE!)

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“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.”

Proverbs 3:13-14 ESV