When I graduated high school the first thing I did was go out and start buying dorm room stuffs and the item I was most proud of was, if you can believe it, a five-bulb lamp. I was so extremely excited and proud of it because it was actually furniture. Something that said it was my own, that I was branching out and needed my own things.
That's how I felt when Louis and I started receiving wedding gifts. The first time was when I opened a box and it contained these beautiful Christmas, regal red napkins and a tablecloth with leafy designs. I looked at them and couldn't help myself: turning to my mom I gushed, "I have my own TABLE CLOTH!"
As our wedding date came closer, my aunt told me that she had my great-grandmother's dining room table and chairs and a hutch. Louis has a lot of furniture already, but he agreed that the family value was a huge factor that we had to have it. We picked it up from my aunt's house on Friday and I can't wait to get it cleaned up for Easter.
But the biggest part for me is the nostalgic value. Underneath the table my grandfather wrote down dates. in 1933 the table was purchased in California by my mother's grandfather, Joaquin Tena. Then my grandfather wrote down in 1967 when he refinished the table and in 2003 he fixed it up again with my uncle.
And now I'll be able to start my own legacy with the table. We also took my great grandmother's couch table and it's so beautiful to think that I have both sides of my mother's family represented in our house. My dad's uncle also sent me two silver platters that my great grandmother would use. My grandmother sent me her china.
One could see it as people excited that they get to hand down a bunch of stuff that takes up space, but this is my history. It's almost incredible to think about!
This is soooo cool! You gotta make sure to keep the tradition going, and someday your kids will appreciate the table that has been handed down for generations.I totally agree with you about the sentimental value that some items hold. I cried when my grandmother sold/gave all of her furniture to family and friends from her house in Mexico. That house was my second home/playground growing up and I loved the furniture and decor. I never really thought about how much it meant to me until I knew that it was gone. My grandmother had lived in that house for what seems like thousands of years and raised thirteen kids there, the history that all of that furniture has is beyond words and I wish I could've been able to keep some of it. I will have to track down some of those pieces and make sure I let those family members know that when they are tired of the furniture they took, I will be happy to take it off their hands:)
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone Sarah! its strange the things we grow to value as we get older:)