I took a trip to GW the other day. In my trunk was this amazing 60 year old roasting pan. It was a painful trip,
reminding me of the time I took my dad's clothes to GW. I am impossibly sentimental and all I could think about were the many, many turkeys my mom had made in that pan. I just can't keep it anymore, and probably will never make another turkey big enough to warrant keeping it. I tried to find someone of the younger generation to take it, but there was no interest. It's a true work horse and hopefully someone will see it's value and take it home to use for many more family meals. One of the things I think of when I remember my parents is the wonderful cook my mother was. She was a nurturer extraordinaire and cooking for her family was part of that. So I said goodbye to a piece of my life and tried not to look back.
I was much happier about this old nail keg. The story goes that it was my grandfather's,
and ended up at my father's house. My dad was a builder-turned-preacher,
but my grandfather was a builder all his life. If you were to travel around the Philadelphia
area you would see many wonderful stone houses, banks and churches built by his company.
So the nail keg meant a lot to me. I was delighted when my nephew's wife expressed
interest in it. It's now an umbrella stand in her front hall!
I'm struck by this attic scene: the old nail keg next to the pack n play,
used for the builder's great-great grandchildren.
Sometimes the memories are just too fresh and deep aren't they. I hope someone enjoys using the roaster. I have been going through more stuff at the house (where my mother-in-law lived and our son now lives) and am having to part with a lot as I just don't have the room. I'm thinking of clearing out some things in our own house too. Things in boxes that are tied to my parents and grandparents but really I'm only keeping them because of sentimental value. I don't need them. It's difficult and I understand your emotion. I love the photo of the family ready for dinner.
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ReplyDeleteTanna at The Brick Street Bungalow said...
ReplyDeleteI have been making piles for Good Will... then going back and taking things out. NONE of the things I'm sorting through have this kind of memory associated with them. I can tell you, I'd never have been able to get the roaster out of the car at GW. Bless you, Dotsie.
The juxtaposition of generations in your attic scene... =)
blessings ~ tanna
Tanna and I have both been decluttering and gifting GW (hmm, sounds like she's taking stuff out of the pile). I haven't had to let anything of sentimental value go as yet. The roaster would have been hard but I understand completely. Love the photo. Mother had some of those covered dishes I see. I wonder where they are now.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
Hi Dotsie
ReplyDeleteThe roasting pan would have been a tough one for me too. My hardest thing to part with was the collection of stone crocks my dad had. They were his grandfather's and passed down for pickle and wine making. I put them on Kijiji to sell and although money wasn't the issue, a loving home was.
Judith
I tell myself that "things" are just that...things. But the fact is that "things" are sometimes representative of the loved ones who used them and enjoyed them. It is a hard thing that you are doing...although I am sure that you still have some treasures that represent your parents and grandparents. Our houses can only hold so much.
ReplyDeleteHugs...
Letting go is so hard. Although the roaster is an inanimate object, it represents so much love and nurturing. Love the photo of your family gathered around the table - those are the memories that will never end up at GW.
ReplyDeleteHugs.
I'm sure that someone will be thrilled with the roaster. You are further along on your journey than I am on mine...I simply can't talk anybody into anything. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know your grandfather was a builder. Mine was too and my dad. You can do the same thing on the north shore of Long Island: see what they built.
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel. Recently I had to take several of my dad's things to GW and it was so hard!
ReplyDeleteI was the keeper of sentimental things from my Mother's house when she passed, but making a move cross country made me donate so much of it, as I could not take it all. Fortunately, a charity that help Haitian immigrants coming into Brooklyn carted most of it away. It helped to know it was going to people in need. I know my Mother would have like that, and I'm sure your Mom would feel the same about her roaster pan, Dotsie.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was a preacher who built on the side, in order to support his burgeoning family.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking today that I don't get sentimental about "things", when something that I love gets broken and I have to throw it away, I really don't mind at all. Maybe something is wrong with me...don't know.
I'm sorry that it hurts you, though, some things must just be done, even though it is painful, I suppose.
Hugs, Cindy
Oh how I feel for you. I have the hardest time parting with things that were in my family. Even the things I know I shall not ever use. I am a hopeless sentimental as well, and I just love to have things that mean something to me. That roasting pan is a real gem. I sure would be thrilled to come across it at the GW. Hope that the right "cook" picks it up and carries on the wonderful cooking that your Mom did!
ReplyDeleteBig hugs,
Kris