By Tonya Sprague

The value that we place on things has a lot to do with the way those things impact our lives.  I'll give you an example. When I was a little kid, I spent a majority of my childhood at my Grandparent's house. Especially in the summer. My mom and dad worked during the daytime and Mee Maw and Pee Paw (my Grandparents) would watch my brother and I until my Mom came to pick us up after she got off work. One day I told Pee Paw that I was bored and I had nothing to do. Without hesitation, he told me to go into the junk drawer in the kitchen and find a big button and some thread. So, I began to sift through the drawer until I came across a huge green button. I took the button over to Pee Paw along with a spool of thread thinking he was going to sew the button onto something, but he didn't have a needle. He said he was going to make me something to play with so I wouldn't be as bored anymore. As I sat there wondering what in the world he could possibly do with this big green button and thread, he began to smile and poke the thread through one button hole and back through the other. He did this a few times and then tied the two ends of thread together. Then he twirled the button around and around and began to pull on each end of the thread. As the button spun around, he told me to take over. So, cautiously, I took each end of the thread and he let go and told me to pull on the thread in order to keep the button spinning. After a few failed attempts, I began to get the hang of it.

I thought that this was the coolest thing in the world at that time because the thread felt like two stretchy rubber bands when you pulled on them and it made a whirring sound then a popping sound when the button reversed its spinning direction. I've never forgot the smile on Pee Paw's face when he made that "anti-boredom" toy for me. It wasn't a video game or show on television that kept me occupied that day, but a button toy my Pee Paw made just for me.

Several years later, after Pee Paw passed away, my husband and I were visiting my parents and I came across that same big green button and thread in an old box of  toys that were stored in my parent's basement. I immediately began to get teary eyed and choked up. My

husband didn't understand why I was getting so upset over a button and thread until after I explained the story behind it. It may seem kinda silly to some, but that simple little toy still means more to me than anything. I keep it in my car around my rear view mirror as a reminder of that moment in my life, as well as my Pee Paw. To me, that big green button toy is priceless.
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