� 2001-2006 by Shiloh
�
Yet another quote this week... I think I heard this one on a movie some time ago. Maybe it was Zoolander; but I did some net searching to find the original author and didn't come up with a whole lot. Brian Dyson and the CEO of Coca-Cola is what came up. Maybe they're one in the same? Either way, it will be our inspiration for the week...
"There is no beginning or end... Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift--that's why it's called the present."
Serena slowly climbed the narrow attic staircase, her hand skimming along the wall for support as she ascended. A few steps creaked when she put her slight weight on them, and there was only one light bulb here that illuminated the way, hanging from a chain at the top of the stairs just before the door to the attic. Beneath her fingers she felt the rips and peeling of the old lilac patterned wallpaper her grandmother had loved.
Memories assailed the young woman as she paused on the fifth step from the door to smooth a tear in the paper. Nanna had loved lilacs, they were her favorite flower. A soft smile curled the corner of Serena's lips as she traced a lilac clump with her forefinger. Lilacs had been her grandmother's favorite scent too. When they were in bloom, she had filled this old house with them, putting them in vases or bowls throughout the house. Serena had loved coming here as a child then. The fresh floral scent of those blossoms permeated everywhere and had a way of making you feel safe, loved and cherished. There was no way you could feel down and out either after five minutes in a roomful of the purple and white blooms.
Serena smiled tremulously again, sniffed and wiped a few tears away that had made their wet, silent sojourn down her cheek. She was going to miss Nanna a heck of a lot, but she had been sick and it was a blessing she hadn't suffered long. She had been gone six months and Serena only now felt ready to see to the things in the attic. Out of the eight grandchildren Nina Fontelli had, Serena had been the one she'd had a special bond with. And that was why she'd given Serena the gift of the old Victorian farmhouse in her will. Nina had known her granddaughter would love it and care for it.
At the top of the stairs Serena ducked around the bare light bulb and, opening the door, surveyed her surroundings. Like most attics it was musty smelling and dusty, with cobwebs here and there. A big square room, discarded knicknacks, bricabrac and boxes of eras long past vied for space, filling the far side of the room till they came halfway out into it. An old rectangular moth-eaten rug the color of wine covered a small expanse of the hardwood floor near the room's center. Other rugs had been rolled up and leaned against the walls while piles of books had been stacked haphazardly. Broken or unused furniture lined one wall. A dormer window across the way allowed the bright sun to spill its light inside, where dust motes danced in a bright beam.
An old chest on the left side grabbed Serena's attention. She crossed to and knelt down before it. Running her hands over the curved lid she noticed and traced the initials carved there. N.F. "Nina Fontelli," she whispered. "Nanna..."
Memories washed over her once again as she inserted a key from the big key ring she carried and unlocked the chest. Opening it, the scent of old lilacs drifted up to her, bringing a fresh shine to her green eyes. Blinking back her tears, she reached in to the pink satin interior and touched the old journal on top, remembering when her grandmother had shown her this chest for the first time. Serena was seven and a half and staying the whole summer with Nanna and Grampa. Her big sister, Janine had gotten the chicken pox and their parents had sent Serena away in order to prevent her from getting sick. Serena had been bored that day and nothing appealed to her as fun. So Nanna suggested they go on a treasure hunt.
Nanna even had an old map they'd checked for clues that took them all over the house, ending up in the attic before the chest. Nearby Nanna had set up a small table with a carafe of cold milk and a plate of raisin oatmeal cookies. She explained to young Serena as they had their snack that the chest held great treasures. Her parents had given it to her as a wedding present and she kept all her treasures in it. Journals, her wedding dress, her favorite book of poems, a favorite ornate hand mirror Samuel, her husband, had given her and a book her own grandmother had passed to her full of old wisdom.
It was this book Serena sought as she carefully sifted through the other contents. Unearthing the aged leatherbound tome, she brushed her dark bangs out of her face and lovingly lifted the book out, carefully opening it to a random page. The pages were yellowed, spotted with watermarks and ink splats and crinkled when she turned them. Her eyes stopped in the middle of page 147. There. There in the small, even and precise handwriting of Caroline Walters, Nanna's grandmother, was the quote that had stuck with Serena ever since Nanna had read it to her.
"There is no beginning or end... Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift--that's why it's called the present."Serena loved this quote and always when reading it or hearing it, she vowed to make better use of her time. After reading it to her Nanna had shared the lesson her grandmother taught her.
Nina was an avid bookworm. Her favorite passtime was to curl up in an out-of-the-way nook with a good book. She could pass the day that way. Then her Grandmother Caroline came upon her one day and took her book. Setting it aside, she bade 14-year-old Nina to follow her. Caroline took Nina to the store owned by her grandfather and father. Standing outside it Caroline told her granddaughter how hard they worked to provide for her, for the family. How much they loved her and the family. These were hard times and nobody could afford to be a layabout. People only get one life and they need to make it count.
"With time 'there is no beginning or end...'" Nanna recalled Caroline saying. "'Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift--that's why it's called the present. We must make the most of today. We don't know when the good Lord will call us home.' And she was right. She was taken three years later."
"Boredom, my sweet child, is of your own making," Nanna told Serena as she gently placed the book back in the chest and closed its lid. "There is no need for you to be bored at all. There is so much to do and and see and explore. To learn. If we sit around bemoaning our lack of something to do, we are wasting the precious time God gave us. We are not reaching our potential. And you have a lot of potential, sweetie. Remember to make the most of God's gift to you--the present."
Serena smiled fondly as she closed the book and returned it to the chest. She gently closed the lid and stood. There was never a day she couldn't remember when Nanna wasn't busy or offering service.
"I love you Nanna," she said softly, pushing a long dark brown lock of hair over her shoulder. Turning, she left the attic...
"I will make today count!"
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