The Button Tin

I guess I was a pretty simple child.

Because one of my favorite things to play with when I was little was...

Mommas button tin.

Even the out side of it entertained me.
I would trace the shapes and feel the "bumpy parts" for a while before I ever opened the tin.

Once opened-
There was a treasure trove of different colors, shapes, sizes and memories involved.
For instance~the button with the "Egyptian guy" on it...
One of my all time favorites.
I don't remember what they were used for, but I remember searching them out every time I opened the tin...
I would also hunt down two little red star buttons-
they were used on a skirt and blouse Mom made for me.
It was my favorite ever!
They were white with red fancy stitching around them
and the blouse had red star buttons down the front.
I have a picture of me in it-
I'll try to remember to show you sometime.
Those buttons now live on Christmas tree ornaments.

Mom gave me her tin when my kids were little with instructions
to add buttons from discarded shirts, dresses and if I had Left over buttons
-even one-
to add them to the tin.
I did and still do.

I changed button tins when my kids were little,
using Mom's for thread now.
I brought it out the other day to search for the perfect one's for yo-yo center's and didn't put it away after I was done.
I set it in a chair...
When Tiny Dancer woke up from a cat nap she saw it and when she picked it up-
it rattled!!
She shook it and it rattled more!!!
She turned it over and over-more rattling!!!
So we opened it up to see what was making this wonderful sound,
she was awe struck.

It didn't take long before she was running her fingers through the buttons

like her mommy and I have done with many of those same buttons.

We lay on our tummy's on the floor together and started matching buttons...

I of course searched out my favorite ones first...

There are three of these.

Tiny Dancer spotted a horse button pretty fast,

so we ran our fingers slowly through until she spotted another...

She found the pink heart buttons her mommy used to like best too.

There are six of them

and she fit them all into one little hand!

Then she found what I think was her favorite for the day...

two buttons tied together with a string.

She played with these for a long time.

My Mom had one rule about playing with the buttons.

"You can play with them as long as the don't get all over the floor".

They started to spill out after about 45 minutes

That's when Tiny Dancer first heard the Button tin rule.

As I was picking them up

she was grabbing them and running into the other room with them...

laughin all the way.

She was not laughing when I rounded them all up and put them all back in the tin and put the tin away...

I know I'm getting soft in my old age.

I gave in and got them out again.

This time we chose to play with them up on the bed in the sun shine to see the colors best.

I sat and watched her playing with the button tin most of the afternoon that day,

Sitting on 5th Great-Gramma-Augusta's old bed frame,

covered with 2nd Great-Gramma-Alvina's wedding quilt.

I wondered if they too, found as much pleasure playing in button tins as we do...

Smile and Remember;
We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.