Box of Buttons

When I was 19 years old I asked my mom for a button and she went into her sewing kit and pulled out a little clear box with a pink lid filled with many different types of buttons that she has collected over her lifetime and she handed it to me. I dumped it out onto the table and looked for the button I needed and put it all back and she told me to keep it because you never know when you are going to need a button. So I took it and I had it for many years.

When we lived in Hollywood we had this neighbor named Meg and one day between 1994 and 1999 I don't remember when, Chip gave this box to her without my permission. He didn't realize that this box of buttons, as insignificant as it may seem, meant a lot to me because it was my moms box of buttons. I felt like I couldn't ask for it back because I don't ask for a gift back after it was given. So basically, I lost it forever. Meg passed away in 2000 soon after we moved to Bakersfield and when we went to her house it had been ransacked and I never saw the box again.

Today we left Butch and Junes house (we came to visit early before Thanksgiving and came home today) and just before we left I went upstairs to see their tenants room that they are renting and as I was going down the stairs after looking at it I noticed this little box sitting on a shelf by the door. I went over to Chip and asked him if he gave my box of buttons to June and he said no and I said I just saw my box and so I walked over to the door and opened it and grabbed the box and opened it to find it was filled with buttons. Chip asked June where she got it and she said that she got it from the motel (they own some motels in San Diego as well as all over the United States). What that means to me is that the "friends" of Meg's who ransacked her house when she died took my box of buttons and one day they were in San Diego and just so happened to have stayed at Butch and Junes motel and accidentally left the box and it ended up in the lost and found and June just so happened to take it home.

The box found me! After all these years it found me. I firmly believe it too. What are the chances that I would ever see this box again? Here is a picture of the box. By the way, before Chip gave it to Meg I was bored one day and I had this sticky foil paper that you put over a book, it's book covers in the mid 90's and it is the type that when you look at the silver part it has colors and they printed it black with the silver flower outlines.  The top piece didn't stick so I glued it on and the sides didn't stick so I used clear packing tape and sure enough this has all that on it.  It is in fact my box that Chip gave to Meg.