There are just certain things I like to do. I love a really HOT cup of coffee, hot tea or Orka chi...and a good book, or my Bible. I love slow mornings. I love to 'create' something from bits of nothing (don't have as much time to do this as I'd like). I love to write stuff down. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't. Like right now, I don't really know where this is going, but I feel compelled to keep typing! (like the kitchen scene in Nanny McPhee!)
Holly will be leaving in about 19 days. Nineteen days. That's ok. I'm good with my kids moving to the next phase of their lives. It's exciting to watch her tie up loose ends, so to speak. But, her 'project' this summer has been our basement. It's always a project at our house (a very long story that I will not bore you with here!) But, our basement has had several evolutions in the past 18 years. (translate: accumulation of much/many things!)
And so, this summer we were to re-claim it as living space, make it beautiful, relaxing and appealing for family time. And, bless her heart, in spite of our differences in color scheme choices, and decorating techniques, it's pulling together quite nicely.
But, because I like to spend time doing lots of different kinds of things...I see beauty, or purpose in lots of 'bits of nothing' to any one else. We have heir looms in storage boxes, because this grandma, or this aunt, thought enough of future generations to preserve, and protect pretty things for 'some day'...And so, as she and I went through a few of those storage boxes last night, I was able to give her the back story on a few pieces.
Some were a wedding gift to this 'great grandma'...some were just always at MaMa's house. I went through a short phase when the older girls were 'big enough' that I would actually buy a few antiques, if I liked them. (that was short-lived because we quickly had two more babies and the 'pretties' got replaced by soft edges and plastic again!)
It was during this short time, though, that I found one particular treasure. It was a beautiful little glass piece. I had a short article that came with it, explaining its history and what it was used for--I loved it because of an old picture I have of one of the women in our family from generations past!
I had seen the paper work over the years through one of my storage containers...but I couldn't find the actual glass piece. It's only about 4" tall...so it could have been wrapped up in paper, and I just couldn't see it. But, as we pulled out boxes last night, I again, saw through the storage container the paper work--and, my heart sank again for the 3rd or 4th time, I'd been through that particular box, and knew that my treasure was NOT in there. At our house, sometimes things get broken, and just thrown away...I feared that that had happened in this case, and after searching decided not to think about it again!
Holly, after pulling many boxes out of our storage room, started opening them, and unwrapping a few things to explore just what kinds of things her mother had been 'hording' all these years. To her delight (and, mine, too!) she thought many of these things were beautiful, and she even seemed to appreciate the back story to many of the things she held up for me to see!
Then, it happened...she unwrapped my little glass piece...the one with the paper work, the one I enjoy so very much. I was so excited, I ran over and grabbed it from her. It looks like lace work all around the top...like you could weave ribbon through it! She asked what in the world 'it' is!?! I had her guess...it just looks like a wide-mouthed short vase. But, it's far more interesting than that!!!
You see, this little glass piece was actually used in parlors by ladies as a personal 'spittoon'!!! I love that! It makes me laugh! It makes me smile...it also humanizes people from the past! A lot of times, because it was so long ago, people from history become almost fictional characters in a story line. Of course ladies in the late 1800's and early 1900's would have to spit...and if they chewed tobacco (which I'm uncertain of that!) all the better to have a place to spit! Of course, my grandma would tell me it was probably for cherry pits, or small bones...who knows...the point is this: they spit...which means they were human!
That's what I want, I want to remain human in the eyes of those who come after me...I don't mean I want to live as a human forever...I just want the stories about me to my children's children to be real...someone they can relate to, just someone older than them, that lived in a different era!
I'm so excited that my little spittoon has been found. It just stands as a small symbol for me that stories I read or stories I hear about women from long ago in my family (or not) were real, with real feelings, emotions, goals, hurts, and habits...much like me...
Remember the Ecclesiastical writer tells us: There's nothing new under the sun!--how true!
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