they even managed to turn

　　Well, good ol’ GG hadn’t quite lived up to her word. After years of garden parties and beach picnics GG had passed Mrs. Blouse on to her daughter, Grandma Johnson. This was the beginning of a difficult season. The special attention that GJ gave her made the other clothing jealous! Ms. Skirt and Mrs. Scarf were particularly mean towards her. Eventually, they even managed to turn Ms. Undergarment against her!

　　GJ often wore Mrs. Blouse on special occasions; this was an encouragement for Mrs. Blouse in light of all the ridicule she endured. In fact, whenever Mrs. Blouse was feeling depressed she would turn to her memories: walking through the park with GJ on the first day of spring, feeding the new baby together, or just baking cookies in the kitchen.

busying around all morning

Today, she got up really early. After busying around all morning, she locked herself inside the bathroom. When her roommates opened the door, they were amazed: “So clean.”
The 5th day
She began studying. She had done very well in school before.However, when we got together, her grades deteriorated. It is good to focus on something else as it will improve recovery.
Three months later
She became president of the Student Vnion. She is becoming more and more able. She also becomes more open. Soon, she will need to prepare for graduate school.

a terminal heart condition

　Many years ago, my dad was diagnosed with a terminal heart condition. He was put on permanent disability and was unable to work at a steady job. He would be fine for quite a while, but would then fall suddenly ill and have to be admitted to the hospital.

　　He wanted to do something to keep himself busy, so he decided to volunteer at the local children hospital. My dad loved kids. It was the perfect job for him. He ended up working with the terminally and critically ill children. He would talk to them and play with them and do arts and crafts with them. Sometimes, he would lose one of his kids. In certain instances, he would tell the grieving parents of these children that he would soon be with their child in heaven and that he would take care of them until they got there. He would also ask the parent if there was a message they would like to send with him for their child.

her material worn thin

Mrs. Blouse had been with the Johnson family for three generations. This was no mean feat for an article of clothing. She had survived the test of time; and though her colors were faded and her material worn thin, she was still loved through and through.

　　Mrs. Blouse could never forget the day when Great Grandma Johnson had first discovered her on the clothing rack – it was love at first sight! GG had held her up to the light and laughed as she exclaimed, “this is the perfect blouse; I’ll never part with it.”

her mouth and retorted

She ate today, forced down by her roommates. Her eyes were red. I always called her “Cry baby”. She always squirmed her mouth and retorted: “No, I’m not.”
The 3rd day
Today, she dressed very sexy, walked into a bar and drank a lot of alcohol. Using tempting moves, she surveyed the room. Many men came up to her and flirted with her telling her how beautiful she was. She drank a lot more. When a much older man, old enough to be her father, walked up and said: “Miss, let me take you home,” she splashed her drink onto his face. As the older man got ready to slap her, Mu showed up and saved Blue. I know all this because I was watching from a corner in the bar.

clothes accepted her with open arms

　Today Mrs. Blouse was again being passed on to another family member! Mrs. Blouse was both excited and nervous – how would Mrs. J and her current clothing treat her?

　　Much to her delight, the new clothes accepted her with open arms! She discovered that some articles of clothing had been with the family for five generations – Great, Great Grandpa’s winter coat! They hit it off together and were soon swapping stories of the good old days. The other garments listened eagerly. This new season would bring joy once more!

paint using her mouth

　Eventually, she began to paint using her mouth, and she and my dad became friends. Soon after, the little girl was discharged because the doctors felt there was nothing else they could do for her. My dad also left the children hospital for a little while because he became ill. Sometime later after my dad had recovered and returned to work, he was at the volunteer counter in the lobby of the hospital. He noticed the front doors open. In came the little girl who had been paralyzed, only this time she was walking. She ran straight over to my dad and hugged him really tight. She gave my dad a picture she had done using her hands. At the bottom it read, thank you for helping me walk.

　　My dad would cry every time he told us this story and so would we. He would say sometimes love is more powerful than doctors, and my dad - who died just a few months after the little girl gave him the picture - loved every single child in that hospital.

covering herself tightly

Just separated with Blue, Blue is a very nice girl, beautiful and gentle. Many friends said that I was a fool to let her go. Even though it was hard, I still had to let her go.
The 1st day
Using her blanket and covering herself tightly, she didn’t get up. Her dorm mates were afraid to go in and comfort her. She didn’t eat anything the whole day, didn’t wash her face or brush her teeth. At night, I could hear her crying beneath the blanket.

merely a little part of my time in earth

He doesn’t haunt my dreams as I feared that night. Instead I am flying far across fields and woods, looking down on those below me. Suddenly I fall to the ground and it is only when I wake up that I realize I was shot by a hunter, brought down by the burden of not the bullet but the soul of the man who shot it. I realize later, with some degree of understanding, that Mike was the hunter holding me down and I am the bird that longs to fly. The next night my dream is similar to the previous nights, but without the hunter. I fly free until I meet another bird who flies with me in perfect harmony. I realize with some relief that there is a bird out there for me, there is another person, not necessarily a lover perhaps just a friend, but there is someone out there who is my soul mate. I think about being a broken vase again and realize that I have glued myself back together, what Mike has is merely a little part of my time in earth, a little understanding of my physical being. He has only, a little piece of me.

I insist to myself firmly.

Somehow when the kettle piped its finishing warning I pretended not to hear it. That’s what Mike’s leaving had been like, sudden and with an awful finality. I would rather just wallow in uncertainty than have things finished. I laughed at myself. Imagine getting all philosophical and sentimental about a mug of coffee. I must be getting old.
And yet it was a young woman who stared back at me from the mirror. A young woman full of promise and hope, a young woman with bright eyes and full lips just waiting to take on the world. I never loved Mike anyway. Besides there are more important things. More important than love, I insist to myself firmly. The lid goes back on the coffee just like closure on the whole Mike experience.