Granny Hankies 

 

Have you seen one of these in your life? 

Or is it only me? 

 

I have had a granny hanky in my pocket for about a decade.

Ok, I’m actually not sure why I call it a granny hanky as neither of my grandmas used them but let’s stay with that for now. 

 

Thanks for being in this mode with me. 

 

Onward.

 

Where have I found them? 

A variety of these have been found in many places including antique shops, craft fairs and estate sales. 

 

They are marvelous at collecting sudden streams of leaky eyes that pop up when talking to family and friends. 

What is a granny hanky good for?

Here is another thing to know about what a granny hanky is good for, at least for me. 

 

I have a grand talent for weeping! 

 

Yes, I know. You are now going to work on this to be one of your life goals. 

 

Here is what I have found with this talent of mine. 

 

It has not always been something that I have enjoyed. 

 

There have been times when a commercial during a major sporting event will bring on the leaky eyes.

Suddenly, 30 seconds of a tender moment has me grabbing this small square of fabric while others in a room are smiling. 

 

Oh goodness. 

 

Awkward? 

Could be and yet I continue to dab my eyes and smile among the tears. 

 

How else can this look? 

 

Recently, I was watching a racing event. 

Two athletes were in the final stages of a cross country race when one thought he was done.

 

Here’s the deal. 

He was not quite to the finish line. 

 

His body sure thought it was over, so he had pulled up on his race pace and had almost gone into cool down. 

 

Do you know what happened next? The athlete coming up next tapped him on his shoulder and told him that the actual finish line was coming up. 

 

Visualize this. These two were suddenly working together so the first one could complete his race well. 

Humanity coming through again. 

 

What did I do? 

The granny hanky came out.

You know what I did. The granny hanky came out of the pocket as I cheered for them both!

 

Thank you for showing how to be kind and generous. 

 

Is it always easy to pull out my granny hanky? 

 

Nope. 

Indeed, I have spoken with others about how it can be better to avoid a situation than to have the tears come. 

 

Or how to hold in the emotion. 

 

Avoid the song, moment, activity. 

 

I can tell you this. 

 

There are times when I turn the radio station because the song that comes on next is going to bring a flood of memories and other times I sit with the flow and, again, sop up the leaky eyes with this amazing piece of cloth. 

How about you?

 

Here is what I do know, as of today. 

 

 

A friend came up to me at an event last week and asked if I was ready to cry. Prepare yourself, they said. 

I smiled and said I am always ready to cry and pulled out one of my granny hankies. 

 

She smiled and shared a wonderful and tender update about one of her family members. 

 

We grinned with full eyes. 

The hanky was at the ready.

 

My talent for weeping continues. I have now embraced this piece of myself as a way to show and share moments with others. 

 

What if we all used the things we can do to help one another, like the two athletes, and see what comes next. 

 

I’ll bring the granny hanky!