• Glimpses
  • Recipes
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Kitchen Table Devotions

by Rita Louise MacDonald

  • About Me
  • My Blog
  • My Books
  • Links & Other Stuff

Papa’s Pocket

by Rita Macdonald

Do you ever wonder how many miles are on your shoes?  Or pick up your grandchild’s feet, tickle their toes, and wonder where they’ll take them some day?  Or buy a piece of clothing from a thrift store, and wonder who it belonged to?  Where they wore it to?  What they’re doing now?

Do you wonder about all of the people in the background of the photos you’ve taken of loved ones over the years?  Or touch the pages of an old library book, and wonder who else turned those pages?

I do.  I wonder all sorts of things that most people might think are quite odd.  But I wonder.  I suppose I wonder a lot.

A few years after my Dad died, my mom started going through some of his clothing.  I came over one day, and I found his old light blue jacket that he wore for many years in a stack for the Good Will.  I don’t think she found it strange at all that I would ask to keep it.  We’re a sentimental family, and Dad’s hat still hangs on a hook in my dining room behind the kitchen table.  I know he’s gone, but it’s just a reminder of what a special Dad I had.

Well that blue jacket hung in my closet for at least a decade, and Rory, Ian, and I would stash money in the pockets.  The kids would call me at work and need something, and I’d just tell them, “Take some money from Papa’s pocket!”

But in 2012, Rory saved and saved, and saved, and saved to buy Holly an engagement ring.  Every now and then I stop in that jewelry store, and the gal who sold it to him remembers I’m Rory’s mom, and re-tells the story of how he saved and saved, and finally was able to come in and pay it off one day.  I’ll never forget that night when Rory asked, “Mum?  Would it be okay if I borrowed Papa’s jacket?  I wanna put Holly’s ring in the pocket until I ask her to marry me.”

Oh!  Be still my HEART!   I was so tickled!  Papa would have loved that.

So for the first time in many years, the jacket left my closet and made its way into Rory’s room, where Holly’s engagement ring stayed until September 12, 2012 when he literally walked right into her math class and interrupted the teacher to come ask his girl to marry him.

That jacket eventually made it’s way back to my closet, and for several more years was the hiding place for extra cash.  But in August 2021, Ian decided to ask Hayley to be his bride, so guess what I did!

I packed up Papa’s old blue jacket, and sent it across the U.S. to Denver, Colorado!  And another beautiful diamond was safely kept in Papa’s pocket until Ian popped the question on a hike with his gal, and their friends in Georgia.  Papa would have loved that, too.

Now the two couples are blissfully married and Rory and Holly have three kids of their own.  The old blue jacket is hanging in Ian’s closet in Denver, and quite frankly, I think I need to go and get it!  I wonder where it will wind up some day, who will stick their hands in its pockets, who’s prized possessions, or trinkets, or diamond rings will be safely tucked in Papa’s pockets!

And I wonder if someday my great grandchildren will ever stick their hands in its pockets and wonder anything at all about the wonderful man it belonged to, and then their grandparents can share some of their memories and stories about him and Beema (their Grandma).  I do hope it never leaves the family, and that my grandkids cherish it someday.  And I hope they hide their treasures in it, and perhaps some day…   a ring!

Oh Dad, I think you’d really, really love how much we still enjoy your old blue jacket!

I miss ya, Dad.

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Pinterest
  • Print

1 Comment | Glimpses

Get Kitchen Table Devotions In Your Inbox

Join 1,355 other subscribers

You may also enjoy...

« Okay! Okay! I’ll Get a Donut!
Eat the Frog First! »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. Carrie Smith says

    December 7, 2022 at 7:24 am

    Rita, I so enjoy reading all of your blogs. They are all wonderful but this one really touched my heart. What precious memories your dad’s jacket has brought to the family.
    Keep writing, my dear friend, you are amazing. 🤗

    Reply

Hello, I’m Rita.

Rita Louise MacDonald

I am a very imperfect follower of Jesus. Much of my journey in learning to follow Christ – as a single mother and now as an empty nester – has taken place at my kitchen table. I invite you to pull up a chair, enjoy the stories, maybe even collect a recipe or two!

Read more…

Get Kitchen Table Devotions In Your Inbox

Join 1,355 other subscribers

Latest Posts

  • Letting Our Loved Ones Die
  • You’re Going To Die
  • In Sickness And In Health

Buy My Books

Whosoever Will

Whosoever Will
Buy This Book Online
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Amazon Kindle
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Buy from Barnes and Noble Nook
Whosoever Will
Buy now!

Glimpses of His Love

Glimpses of His Love
Buy This Book Online
Buy from Amazon
Buy from Barnes and Noble
Glimpses of His Love
Buy now!

Popular Posts

  • When A Nurse Says Goodbye
    When A Nurse Says Goodbye
  • Doing The Right Thing
    Doing The Right Thing
  • As Far As The East Is From The West
    As Far As The East Is From The West
  • The Day the Outhouse Blew Up
    The Day the Outhouse Blew Up
  • Spiritual Castor Oil
    Spiritual Castor Oil
  • The Treasure Of Intergenerational Friendship
    The Treasure Of Intergenerational Friendship

Get Kitchen Table Devotions In Your Inbox

Join 1,355 other subscribers

Follow Kitchen Table Devotions on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 · Kitchen Table Devotions · Rita Louise MacDonald · All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2025 · Pink Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...