A SCRAPPY KIND OF GIRL...

Scrappy: full of fighting spirit; made up of scraps or odds and endsMy husband has always called me his " little scrappy sassy girl," a term of endearment I earned at the ripe old age of sixteen when we had a huge misunderstanding right in the very beginning of our dating years. It all started with a note. After reading it, indignation rose to the surface of my fiery little frame as I blasted him with my Southern staples of sass and scrappy spirit. He had the nerve to stand there and look at me with an amused indulgent smirk that was straight off the face of Rhett Butler himself. He made some sort of brushing remark and sent me on my way. I had no choice but to leave, I was going to be late for class.I remember fairly seething through the day thinking how this guy would not even get the time of day from me much less another date. He, on the other hand, had very different ideas. Our little encounter in the parking lot that morning, in his mind, had sealed our fate. It took a valiant effort on his part to smooth over the misunderstanding, which over time he eventually did. He has always said that from that moment he knew I would keep things interesting with my firecracker spirit, which I am happy to report has been tamed down over the years, and my staples of sass and scrap, which I am afraid have not changed one bit.He said when he saw me that afternoon, as I marched out of the Science building like a little warrior heading his way to do battle, that he was trying to think of how to defuse the situation. He ended up making me laugh. I said maybe I would take his calls and maybe I would not. He came to my house every single day until I finally relented and talked to him. His version of the story is that I fell for his persistent charm. My version is that he just plain old wore me down and it was easier to date him than to get rid of him. Either way, we managed to work things out and mend the scraps of odds and ends that make up most relationships blending them into a life together.I am also happy to report that these days I am much more of a scrappy kind of girl in an artistic kind of way rather than in a high spirited one, loving to incorporate small scraps, odds, and ends into my art pieces rather than getting riled up. My latest project, a birds nest assemblage, is made up of just such materials; scraps of fibers, threads, fabrics, and papers; odds and ends of wire, buttons, beads, stones, bits of rusty hardware, twigs, and feathers. Combine those with a flea market find compote, chicken wire, and a hunk of wood that looks like a bird and you have yourself a scrappy piece of artwork.

I am finding myself saving or picking up the oddest scraps for my artwork lately. I had to laugh at an email my friend Pam sent me the other day. She had just read an article about an elderly lady that had passed away. Her children had come in to clean out her belongings and found lots and lots of balls of yarn and twine. They also found a shoe box full of tiny scraps of yarn and twine. On the top of the box a note read, " too small to save." She said that made her laugh and think of us. I too have a shoe sized box full of scraps...And a little tin by my sewing machine just for saving tiny tidbits...And, I have been thinking about leaving a note too, telling my children that some scraps are worth saving. I know that my son and daughter will remember their mother as full of Southern scrap and sass, especially since their father delights in telling his version of the story and how he " baited and hooked" me. But more than that, I want them to remember that the misunderstandings, indignations, brushing remarks, and little encounters in life, those kinds of scraps that we have with one another are certainly worth salvaging.Relationships are never too small to save, they are well worth working through, forgiving, forgetting, and foraging ahead. I want to tell them to hang on to the tidbits that make up time and memory, those are certainly worth storing, especially when you can look back and learn from them. I want them to learn to love and enjoy incorporating the small scraps of life experiences, the odds of ends of loving and living with the person of their choosing, blending their lives into a beautiful work of heart that results in a lifetime of memories worth savoring.These are just a few of the tidbits I have been collecting to pass on to them, hard won lessons that two people, full of scrappy spirit, have learned together as they have navigated through a 30 year marriage. Handy Hubby says to this day that he would not have me be any other way than his scrappy sassy kind of girl and I am glad I gave him a second chance, otherwise, we would not have built a life together and feathered our nest with such a mixture of happy memories. Yes indeed, some scraps are worth having and saving.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy