I slowly opened the big Whitman’s Sampler box. It wasn’t full of chocolates. It was full of buttons – big flat buttons that were snipped off coats, covered buttons from old sofas and chairs, pearl buttons, small buttons, square buttons, wooden buttons, shank buttons, leather buttons, buttons shaped like fruit and flowers, glass buttons, and buttons of almost every color. The box held more than buttons. Every time I opened it sparks of magic escaped. Kids who have played with boxes of buttons understand they are for more than closing the front of a shirt or keeping a skirt from sliding off. Where else can you find a box full of eyes, noses, flowers, necklaces and bracelets, buttons for tying a quilt, crafts, art supplies, and endless possibilities?
One time when my kids were small, we went to visit my folks. My little girl crawled between the blankets on the pallet her grandmother fixed for her on the floor. That was her favorite place to sleep whenever we visited my folks. She had not been there long before she came running out of the bedroom, visibly upset and a bit scared. “Grandma’s slippers are looking at me!” We went to investigate.
Grandma’s fuzzy pink slip-on slippers with a button on top were just under Grandma’s side of the bed. The buttons were slick and shiny. Light reflected off the glassy surfaces and they sure looked like eyes. Understanding the reason for her being upset, I explained that the buttons on the slippers could not see. The little girl was not satisfied with that. After all, she had a bear with button eyes and the bear could see. The wisdom of a toddler won, and the slippers were moved so they couldn’t “look” at her anymore.
This little girl loved her bear. She slept with it and carried it with her when she played outside. The little bear rode in the basket of her tricycle. One day the dog grabbed her bear and pulled off one of its eyes and ate it. I had to perform eye surgery and sew on a new eye. It didn’t match the old, but that made no difference as long as the bear could see.
Oops! This little guy needs surgery!
Sometimes when my granddaughter comes to visit, she gets into my button box. She carefully selects the buttons she wants to use, then she draws a design on a piece of fabric and glues on buttons to make flowers, trees, the sun, and other things she sees in her imagination.
I feel a little bit sorry for little kids that know nothing about the magic that comes from a box of buttons.