Sometimes when I am cleaning house, I wish I could replace everything in it. I notice every scratch on the tabletops, every scuff on the chair legs, every worn spot on the carpet. One day I decided I had to start replacing things. I was definitely in the mood for sprucing things up when I took my father's watch to the jeweler for a new battery that afternoon. The jeweler pointed out that the leather on dad's watchband was worn. I said, 'Let's put on a new strap.' I thought dad would be pleased with the new band but instead, he had a sad look on his face.' What's the matter?' I asked. I would rather have the old one,' dad said. 'It was like an old friend.' The watch had been given to him when he retired 20 years ago; of course, it was like an old friend a very special one.
I took the watch back to the jeweler and had the old band put back on it. When I came home I began to walk through my house, seeing things in a different way. Some of the scratches have been made by playful kids, puppies, and so on, who had now grown up. The worn spots in the carpet were made by the comings and goings of people I loved. My dishes, with the chip now and then, had been settings for meals lovingly cooked and joyously eaten as we sat around the old roundtable that was my mom and dad's first piece of furniture.
So I decided, I wasn't going to replace anything that represented so many great memories. In fact, I really like the way my house looked. It was filled with friends, and friends don't mind when friends get old and worn.