![\"closet\"](\"http:\/\/story2write.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/closet.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI easily discarded the bottles of expired lotions, salves and ointments. Throwing out the sanitary napkins dating back to the 70s was also a no-brainer as was the back scratching cleaning sponge my Dad used for bathing. The faded and repeatedly mended bath towels would become cleaning rags. Several bottles of perfume received as gifts had collected on one shelf (my annual present to my Mom – apparently not a good idea), but found a new resting place inside my black trash bag. <\/p>\n
Useful and \u201cnon-perishable\u201d items such as Band-Aids, gauze, athletic tape and Ace bandages made their way into a small \u201cTo Keep\u201d box. Cakes of soap, a knee brace, rubbing alcohol and nail polish remover made the \u201csave it\u201d cut as well. But one saved collection of items in that box represents a precious memory – my father\u2019s old shaving things. The white ceramic cup still contained a bit of hard, dried up Old Spice shaving cream. The horsehair brush rested there as well. I remember mornings as a little girl when I would get up and join my Father in the bathroom for his morning shaving ritual. He\u2019d add water to the shaving mug and whip the water and Old Spice into a frothy lather with the bristles of his small brush. I\u2019d watch him spread the cream all over his chin and cheeks, carefully dab under his nose, cover his neck and then finish off with a little dab, just for me, right on my nose. He\u2019d smile and I\u2019d giggle before wiping it off.<\/p>\n
Then came the razor. This was not your green plastic twin-blade from the local pharmacy. This was serious business. Dad\u2019s razor was the old fashioned kind. Gold, single-bladed \u2013 the kind you replaced every few shaves. And it feels weighty in your hand, because it had serious work to do, so it needed to look and be impressive. I\u2019d watch the downward strokes on the cheeks, the slow movement under the lip, the long upward movements on the neck until the job was finished and Dad\u2019s smooth face reappeared.<\/p>\n
I loved this morning ritual. A few special moments spent with my Dad before he headed off for the day. I never really thought back on this time in all the years since then, but that little white cup and brush reminded me. They reconnected me to the past and in the same moment brought a smile to my lips and a twang of sorrow to my heart. And so I will cherish them, because I cherished my Dad.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"