Be the View Now; Don't Find it 10 Years Later

I’ve been budgeting my time poorly this week – tisk, tisk, tisk on me! I have a huge event coming up this week and I want to do EVERYTHING.  Yet……it ALL can’t happen. 

What I’m looking forward to most at this event is spending some time with my grandmother and I plan on sitting right next to her and probably somewhere near my friend, Sue. 

Sue is my friend and my writing partner, she came over Wednesday for our weekly writing/editing session. However, we spent the ENTIRE time cutting and pasting for MY personal project.

We worked for two hours and chatted; she also told me a story that made us both cry.  The story involves the ways in which we choose to remember our loved ones: spritzing perfume, saving socks or a shirt, saving a voice mail. Some people like to pull out a photo.

But some photos come in very special cases. Does anybody remember the cone shaped key chains that magnify photos? They were big in the 60's 70's and 80's. You could find them at Splish Splash or any amusement park and especially on cruise ships.  They are square (four sides) with a glass hole for the picture in the middle.  They have a tab on outer side with a hole for a beaded tab - that's what allows you to use these "photo viewers" as key chains.

My friend Sue found out they are called photo viewers and even shared two photos with me. The first is a plain photo of the basic blue photo viewer. The second is of her Grandparents IN the photo viewer.  

Sue told me that when she misses her loved one, she takes out her viewfinder and looks and sees them there and it’s almost like they’re standing next to her. 

When I was a kid my Grandma would vacation on some sun-soaked island and bring back a bag full of stuff for my sister and I to keep: shampoos, conditioners, lotions and sprays - extras from luxury hotels but mostly printed with the words, “Hilton”; colorful necklaces with seashells or parrots, screen-printed tee-shirts, maybe a magnet or a keychain.  We EACH got one of those swag bags.

What we were forced to “split” was the “viewfinder”. Lots of “It’s my turn” could be heard on the car ride back from Franklin Square as tiny fingers grabbed.  The little head would dart in “this” and “that” direction as blinking lashes hit the eyehole, trying to get as close as possible to the image. 

Before Sue came for our session, I was on a mission which ended up being a complete waste…but not completely.

I strolled into one of Sayville’s Spiritual healing shops and I decide that I need a to breath in the patchouli-laden air. I walked through a sea of crystals of every color including two of my favorites moonstone, tiger’s eye. There were beautiful rosequartz shaped hearts, raw jagged amethyst, chunks of garnet and lapis lazuli.

 Then I neared a garden of little white-painted budha.  I thought of giving one to my grandma on Saturday because she LOVES BUDHA.   I picked him up and saw the price - $16.95 which is I believe is not what I wanted to spend on that item. 

I saw a necklace hanging it was red with an orange/yellow tint. I forget the name of the stone but I know that it’s a stone of protection.  It had two charms on it, a little white elephant and a silver knot. Aside from the main color scheme there are also a few  white then a foursome of multi-colored beads – I’m told those are all for protection and strength.

I plan to give this little gift to my grandma when I see her on Saturday.  Since I don’t have any more of my “viewfinders” I’m going to ask my grandmother for a couple of them. 

I’ve thought about it, when you are shutting your eyes and your mind and concentrating on just that little tiny photo in front of you I’ll bet that it feels like the person inside that viewfinder is right next to you.

Once again I’m reminded that I am very lucky that I don’t need a viewfinder to feel like my grandmother is here.  I plan to give her the necklace and have a great day.  The necklace will give her protection and strength for when she gets home.