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Guest Column by Robin (Beckman) Gudal

 

Buttons.

I am in a bit of a quandary.

I also have a confession, but not quite yet.

I want you to get to know me first before you judge and put me in that catalog of “Oh, she’s one of those people.”

We all have clothing with buttons. That is one thing we all have in common, unless you have moved on to 100 percent Velcro in your life.

Have you ever stopped in your busy, important, hectic life to ask what happens to all those buttons? I believe this mystery falls right in line with the sock’s mystery.

I know there are much more important things in life, like the pursuit to cure cancer, why do bad things happen to good people, why did that happen? There are many of life’s situations that deserve much more time, contemplation, prayer and even our tears. However, in life there are also less-important, but important to me topics. So, I come back to buttons.

I was married young, 18 days after my high school graduation. I had a lot to learn. Cooking — being the oldest of five children with two parents in the ’80s who worked full-time, in the sweet, amazing, closeknit town of Bricelyn — was not one of things I needed to learn. I held my own in that area. We can thank trial and error and Iva from Bud’s Cafe for most of that knowledge.

When we got married, I jumped right into cooking meals for the guys in the field. Now, these men were hungry, so they may have eaten most anything, but because of Betty Crocker — thanks Grandma Lucy for the book for my sweet 16 — I did quite well!

One thing I was not familiar with was buttons. What exactly do you do with a shirt or pants when a button falls off? I learned quickly, as we live in a country of abundance, that clothing items without buttons can just be put in a “fix that” pile and be forgotten for years! This was an amazing discovery for me. Then another amazing concept came into my life: if you don’t wear it within five years — toss it. Life is sweet! I also discovered scotch tape ironed is a great way to hem pants —oh the things this young, busy, creative wife soon learned.

Here’s where the problem comes in.

Fast forward to this past Christmas season: 36.5 years of marriage, more mature (of course), more in love with my hubs and no children under foot to make the excuse of not enough time. Says the hubs to me, “Honey, I love this shirt but there is a problem.” I say, “Oh, what’s that?” “Well,” he says, “There is a button missing.” Saddened and serious, the man I love stands before me, presenting a wool green shirt with one simple request, “Do you think you could sew a button on this”?

Caught.

I can’t let this one go into the pile. I guess I now know my new year’s resolution. It has been picked for me, not by me. Today, or maybe tomorrow, I plan to sew a button on. Soon!

I know I am not alone, so happy sewing to all of you! In case you don’t have a pile, I have one I will share.

Robin (Beckman) Gudal describes herself as a flawed individual, imperfect follower of Jesus, wife, momma, Nana, great-nana, friend and lover of people.