Some of my friends are already aware of a recent tragic mistake I made while arranging my china cabinet.
I was placing two sets of wedding china on the top shelf and it was too heavy. This error in judgment led to the shelf breaking along with the other two shelves in the cabinet. I have to tell you it was a horrible sound as each and every dish crashed to the floor. In all more than 150 pieces of china and crystal wine glasses were destroyed.
I immediately burst into tears as Mike came in from the yard to see about the ruckus. As we picked up the pieces and swept up the glass I thought of the 80 years of memories created while using these dishes.
My love of china started early in life when my parents bought me a bone china tea set when I was 9 years old and in the third grade. It was white with pink roses and included a teapot, creamer, sugar bowl and six cups and saucers. I still have this tea set and thank goodness it was not in the china hutch when it crashed last weekend. Many times I had real tea with my friends when I was young.
I always knew I would have wedding china one day. In 1998 Mike and I carefully chose a Lenox pattern of white china with a dark blue rim. Several friends each bought us a piece of the setting as wedding gifts. Every holiday table for the last 18 years has been set with these dishes. Our children, from babies to adults, have eaten from these plates several times a year. It felt right to have this family tradition.
Recently we inherited Mike’s grandparents’ wedding china from the 1930s. Grandma loved her china too. I was happy to have it. Recently I hosted a baby shower. I used both sets of china to set 20 places for the guests. It was absolutely beautiful. This would be the final grand meal served on those dishes.
I don’t ever regret using our good dishes to host special occasions. I am thankful that those memories can’t be lost or broken. As it turned out the dishes weren’t broken from creating memories with them, it was trying to put them away that was their downfall.
The older you get the more you
realize that it isn’t about the
material things, pride or ego.
It’s about our hearts and who
they beat for.
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Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
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