My clock......

That's not my clock -- I had to borrow an image from google images (we-import). Since mine's in the shop I can't take my usual blurry picture of it -- but my clock is very similar. My dad gave our clock to us the Christmas after my mom died. He was from the generation of men (WWII) who left the Christmas shopping (actually, any kind of shopping) to the women in their lives, so when he made the trip to Fairhope, AL and chose that clock for me....it meant a lot. He even laid it out under the tree as my mom had always done. I can't tell you how much his efforts meant to me. And....since it was the last real effort he made to continue keeping Christmases, that clock's sentimental value has grown through the years. In all those years that it has been hanging over the mantel above the fireplace, I didn't realize how much of a practical use the clock was to us also until it went to the shop.

Did you know that clocks should be cleaned and oiled every two years or so? Admittedly I did -- even if I never acted on this knowledge. The clock shop dude was surprised that it had lasted this long. He said it was probably because it had basically had only one person winding it -- moi. The very few times anyone else has bothered to wind that clock -- it broke. Both times I made the repairs myself -- guided by advice from the guy who's fixing it now and with mail order parts from Fairhope. But this time I had to admit defeat and take it in to the pros. (If your city's anything like mine and you need a clock repaired -- good luck finding someone. Not that easy!)

So, for the last two weeks, our clock has been in the clock hospital. I've missed it's chiming. Well, that may be a lie because I've grown so used to it that I don't hear it anymore. Although....those chimes do drive most overnight guests to distraction. Which is fine with me. You know what they say about guests and fish....

Yesterday the shop called and the clock's ready to be picked up. I'd go today but with the rain we're having I'd have to go by boat and with this deluge it would be right back in the shop. I hope I can get it tomorrow. J and I never realized how much we depended on it for the time as we walked through the family room. There aren't any other clocks in the room. Like the old saying goes: you don't know how you'll miss something until it's gone. (Isn't that how the saying goes....)