February 18, 2013
Who's Got the Button?

I remember one rainy afternoon when the incessant complaints of "I'm bored" became just too much for my mom to bear, and she sat me down in front of her button box with instructions to group the odd assortment of buttons into families, attaching them together with a needle and thread.

It was pure tedium yet at the same time sheer delight on my part, because for as long as I could remember, I had been fascinated by mom's button box.  And still I am today. 

In a way, botton boxes or jars are time capsules - a glimpse into a time gone by.  Just as a crazy quilt is constructed of memories, one patch at a time, a button box is filled with morsels of yesterday - it's all that remains of a cherished garment or  well worn work clothes. 

Back then, garments that had gone past wearability were recyled into rags, but not until the treasured buttons had been cut off and dropped into the button jar.  Oftentimes they were called into service for newly sewn clothing.  It was a reincarnation of sorts.

Mom's button box held so many wonderful treausures: tiny animal-shaped buttons, perhaps once gracing a child's homemade garment, beautiful jewel-like pearl and crystal buttons from fancy "church" clothing, huge, oversized coat buttons, and countless other square, round oval, and variously-shaped buttons. 

I never tired of sifting through the buttons and as I recall, my sorting work progressed with great pleasure on that rainy day. 

Today I have several special button collections of my own - some passed down to me by family members, others that I have acquired along the way. I never fail to be amused by what I sometimes discover tucked in with the rest of the buttons in such collections.  

Almost always there are broken jewelry and watch parts, old key chain rings, an orphan earring or two, and a few beads from a favorite necklace.  All these things were deemed too charming to throw away so they were added to the miscellany.

In one particular collection I acquired, I was taken aback to discover someone's partial plate hidden among the buttons.  I've also come across a spare tooth or two, as well as some loose change.  

Never have I discovered a gold nugget or a diamond ring, but there's always the possibility I suppose so I hold out the hope.  It's always interesting to contemplate how these things ended up in a button box, and what other surprises might be lurking within.

The old button jar leads me to ponder how very little is saved and recycled today as it once was back then.  At one time, I imagine, the cost of buying a new card filled with shiny buttons  from the "Five and Dime" store was rather expensive, so reusing a perfectly good one was a sensible option. 

Today we don't find the need to save the buttons from our cast off garments and can purchase new buttons effortlessly without a second thought of recycling perfectly good ones.  But in doing so we miss out on the joy of delving deeply into the button jar and searching for the perfect button to fit the task.  You just never know what you might come up with  in that endeavor.

It's just another of those simple joys in life......and one that I have fortunately never outgrown.