Right There All Along

Several people have mentioned to me that they printed out Papaw’s list, the one I included in my last post. They plan on hanging it in a visible place that would help to inspire them daily. Every time someone tells me this, I feel a pang of guilt, because I have yet to do this. My printer ran out of ink, and I have put off ordering more. I thought I might type the list up in a fun font, put it on a flash drive and get my neighbor Kristie to print it off for me. Or I could e-mail the list to Amy and she could print it out. I could also quit mooching from my friends, take the flash drive to Walgreens and print it out there. Maybe they could use cute paper and laminate it.

All great ideas, but ideas they remain. It’s just too comfy on my couch to make the trek to Walgreens. And I’m afraid my friends are finally going to cut off my supply of ink, along with their friendships, if I don’t quit being such a cheapskate.

But the guilt is really getting to me. So, I throw back the cozy quilt covering my lap and start to get up. Something catches my eye, the corner of a white envelope peeking out from under a pillow. I laugh as I realize what it is. Inside is Papaw’s original letter with the list he composed on his trusty typewriter. Yes, I said typewriter. My sweet grandfather composed every single one of his articles on a typewriter, up until the very last one. I came to love seeing the unique way the letters sometimes were uneven and the occasional X he used to correct a mistake. I could easily envision him sitting at his typewriter – with his list posted close at hand.

So is only appropriate that I use this characteristic document composed straight from Papaw’s typewriter as my inspiration. The cute paper and fancy font just wouldn’t have cut it. No unnecessary trip to Walgreens needed and no inconvenience to my friends. It was right there all along.