#101: Things That Bring Feelings of Home
What is it about things found, inherited, or passed down that bring us deep feelings of home?
If the weather is so inclined to greet me with a temperature that is neither too hot or cold, my mornings begin outside on the deck with a mug of tea, a book, and my beloved GP.
My current morning read is The Enchanted Life by Sharon Blackie and I am captured by the description of her kitchen table which has traveled with her for years to different countries, places, and homes. She polishes it with wax—three coats—and, along with well-earned scars and scratches, it carries a patina of memories. She asks…what is it about things found, inherited, or passed down that bring us deep feelings of home?
Well, that prompt really gets me going and I look around to see that most everything in my home has a story to tell.
The table my wuzband once made was an expression of his love for our family. It was crafted from wood he bought from an old-time logger he befriended. The logs were going to be bucked up for firewood but my wuzband recognized the beauty hidden inside of them and asked if he might buy them. A price was set. Twenty-five cents a board foot which even back in 1990 was a screaming deal. Then came the time, care, and skilled craftsmanship it took to make it. When it was finished, it found a home in the kitchen he crafted for me…another act of love…and we shared our first meal of soup and bread around it.
I no longer live in that home and for a time the table was a painful reminder of the emptiness and loss I felt after our paths, once together, split apart. I thought about re-homing it, but time has settled some of that sadness and grief and I’m glad I kept it.
The table has traveled with me, moving from home to home, country to city and back again, making friends along the way, and adding new memories to the hopes and dreams imbued in the wood from which it was made. Now I can’t imagine life without it, and one day it will be passed on to our son who shares in its history as well.
Is there something that brings up feelings of home for you? What makes it special?
my mom's best friend, next door in the country, was an antique dealer. Mom would go to country yard sales with him, and he would nod at some old painted table or chest of drawers if he thought it a cheap but good buy for her. She knew how to refinish furniture. That's how I acquired 2 walnut chests of drawers and a drop leaf table. I spent the summer just before my wedding, 60 years ago, refinishing that table under mom's tutelage. I still have those pieces of furniture. they are precious pieces of my past.
I have some ceramic dishes that belonged to my father’s aunties. They were white, but got a bit yellow through time. I love seeing the cracks and the parts that miss in some of them. I think of them as some sort of luck charm. 🍀