Lamination as Libation

Fetch the newspaper from the tube, reading the headlines as you cross the road. Open up to the obituaries to see who needs a sympathy card or when you'll be going to Calling Hours.

Back in your recliner, continue reading. Don't worry if you nod off. You don't sleep well anymore. Notice the photo of a girl and her horse winning a trophy at the county fair. Realize this is the granddaughter of a woman you worked with at the Eagle Rubber Company during the war. Take the scissors from your sewing basket and clip the photo and its caption. With a ballpoint pen, scrawl today's date in the margin. Add this to your collection of clippings, including the 40th wedding anniversary photo of your former neighbors (make sure you've marked it on the wall calendar) and the birth announcement of your favorite waitress's grandson.

The author's grandma, Marcia, meticulous and ordered

Drive into town to the local office supply store. The girl behind the counter recognizes you. Give her the clippings and your coins. She'll return with the finished products.

Always a lover of animals, Marcia with her dog, Roscoe

Stop at the diner for your usual (black coffee, one scrambled egg, crisp home fries, wheat toast) to deliver the laminated birth announcement to Donna in person. Slip the rest of the laminated clippings into greeting cards with a handwritten note before dropping them in the mail.
You could have just called to say, "I saw this in the paper," but remember: moments worth celebrating are best honored with lamination.

- Cyn K, a thoroughly Midwestern mom, spends her days as an administrative assistant at a private college and her nights wrangling her autistic son, antisocial husband, and anxious dog. She reads the same local paper as her grandma did, though she doesn't clip articles and get them laminated. Maybe she should! She blogs at that cynking feeling and tweets as @cynkingfeeling.