Grandma's Toothbrush Holder

I opened the top drawer of the filing cabinet my family and friends helped move into my office from the garage (Gurge in caveman language).

That filing cabinet used to be my right hand friend, and I have not opened it since 2009, it is 2011, and before that for seven more years it was barely opened out of frustrated plans.

My method of filing was found unacceptable by another one day during a cultural clash. ‘Left of center’, centre spelled differently now, I use to say then.

And now, I say ‘thank you’ to my golden friend who always keeps me wanting to be on the planet just to know more. You are one and many, with names that sound funny, some sad, some out of this world, but always your many names represent golden round love.

My grandmother began painting late in life. Her son, my father, was an artist. She thought it looked fun and began painting what looked like sick cows and moved onto genius rather quickly. Grandma's china painting was some of the best I have seen, so delicate, precise, yet loose, many hours of gentle applications, many firings, and with the luck of the Irish (Grandma would say), an art piece was born.

This afternoon I found one of her art pieces I had tucked away in the top drawer of my filing cabinet right before I moved one house to another, several moves ago, I had completely forgotten it.

I opened the drawer and heard something other than paper moving around, I spread the files and there was a bone china toothbrush holder painted ever so daintily with soft yellow roses and impressionistic leaves, signed Kise 1965 in my grandmother’s certain hand.

It was a good moment. It still is. I washed the toothbrush holder carefully with water rather than tears. The tears lodged in the back of my eyes glistened brightly, I saw my grandmother hold her breath to achieve such minute brush strokes that could only have come from a brush with one hair, and, a lot of patience, and, a lot of time, and, a love of painting.

I inherited that love from her, and both my parents. I was hit with a trilogy of painting people to guide me. Even if I am not a rose gal, I am more of an agapanthus or a bird of paradise and I love painting!

And, all my painting friends who come to remind me that life is good whenever I decide.


Grandma says, let’s rock and roll and paint anyway...
All we have to do is grow wings. Easy enough if you just paint them.
I decide, you decide, today we decided to do it...
And, grandma’s toothbrush holder came back round
Just to prove it, if you decide for it to.
I did, and I do, and I hope you do, too.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Don’t need teeth to laugh, aye?
Brush it all away with golden syrup
Dip it in chocolate, any kind...
Even the kind you can’t pronounce
It goes in so easy
Comes out twice as fast
Seems like gas
But, really freezes
Instantly sometimes
And never at others
Don’t blow my covers off
It’s cold soon enough
But, for now
I feel good
Just knowing
I have grandma's toothbrush holder.