I sit here cold and lonely in my little shop, hunched against the chill of barn night air. This day should be a special one, a marker of a life and so I look within and stop at what I see that covers me.
I wear my father’s shirt; I’ve never gotten over being youngest wearing hand-me-downs and take delight in feeling others on my self. This one I chose to comfort and shelter skin and soul from the past year and months that brought such changes. On my hands are wedding bands, promises and love of husband, mother, father. On my wrist two matching sterling bracelets touch and clink, I’ll never take them off, mine and Chris’. Jeans, jersey, shoes from nieces; earrings gifted from a friend and socks from Santa Jim.
My underwear is my own, my first layer of defense against my nakedness. But wrapped around me is a lifetime of material things from those that mean so much. Today, this day I need them as I may face another year, and these are just reminders that they truly dwell within.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology