I visited my cousin soon after her mother died. She had a few things of her
mom's out on a table for me to see. I recognized many of them as they had
at one time been in our grandma's house. When I saw this miniature tea set at home on
her shelf, I gasped in delight! One of my favorite childhood memories
is "playing restaurant" at our grandma's house during our summer visits.
These were the dishes we used and they are so familiar to me!
One of the reasons we enjoyed pretending we were servers in a restaurant
was because our grandma had a really cool pantry with countertops, and a SWINGING
door from there into the dining room. You can imagine the fun.
I'm so glad my cousin has them on display.
Another surprise was to see my other grandmother's old brass dinner gong
displayed in our kids' breakfast room at their new house.
It was in my father's childhood home,
so of course in my grandparents' house
where we would visit
and loved to play with it––until we heard
"Enough!"
And then it came to our house after a short time at my parents' house.
And now our grands are growing up with it in their house.
This proves to me a hopeful theory I am working on--that
our kids are starting to show an interest in old family "heirlooms"!
That news brings a smile!
Most young people seem to minimalist nowadays, so it's so nice that yours are appreciating treasures from the past.
ReplyDeleteI agree, train them young; otherwise, they grow up to live like bohemians with no sense of style or taste. (Gheesh. I surprised myself with that. 🤦🏻♀️ Yes, I know a Bohemian or two.)
ReplyDeleteThe darling tea set was certainly taken care of, Dotsie. It's adorable! Seeing family pieces in my own children's homes makes me smile as well. What an interesting gong. Maybe they'll hear the same "enough" too. ♥
ReplyDeleteSweet memories! :)
ReplyDeleteI wonder what my boys will keep after I'm gone!
ReplyDeleteYou know how I love this hopeful theory of yours! The dinner gong looks great on that buffet. I can only imagine how MANY times there was the cry of "enough"! LOL! The tea set is so sweet. And, I'm sure there were LOTS of trips through that swinging door as tables were "waited on". ;) Precious memories. Love that they are being passed down. blessings ~ tanna
ReplyDeleteOh what a blessing it is to be able to pass down these wonderful keepsakes that are filled with precious memories. I know that both of my boys appreciate family heirlooms that we have passed down to them but I am not quite sure about their children yet. I do hope that they realize what treasures they are! Love this darling tea set and gong!
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful post with beautiful memories!!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the old things and hearing about their history. I can't imagine that any of my boys will want my olden stuff...but who knows! Enjoy your evening! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteLovely to see and know that a new generation is taking an interest in vintage treasures and family heirlooms. I remember a similar dinner gong at my grammie's house where my father grew up. I guess it got auctioned off with most of the rest but I did get two antique tables and dishes handed down to me. Have a nice week!
ReplyDeleteI love treasures that have an emotional connection. The painting in the photo of the gong is lovely. Is it an heirloom, too?
ReplyDeleteI can imagine your excitement upon seeing the tea set you played with as a child! And I can imagine your excitement when you saw a family heirloom displayed at your children's home!
ReplyDeleteMy theory is that family heirlooms take on meaning when they are seen and used. "Stored" heirlooms do not become loved by the current generation. They are loved by those who have memories attached. I think your heirlooms will live on!
How lovely to have wonderful memories surface by these objects that your cousin has. I agree with Cheryl that using items and having them out and talking about them makes them more valuable in the next generation's eyes.
ReplyDeleteOh how I hope your theory is true as I pack up so many treasures to move with us.
ReplyDeleteChildhood memories are the best and isn’t it wonderful that your children are starting to show interest for your treasures... We have many vintage pieces on display and I do agree that that is the best way to conjure up the love of family history... suddenly the items take on a life of their own in the mind saying ... "I remember when”.... This was a very endearing post ...Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOh I hope that is so true. I still think that neither of my kids, nor my grands care anything about memorabilia...sometimes it just breaks my heart. I would hate for some of my things to be sold off in a garage sale (which happpens all the time).
ReplyDeleteI've read "millennials don't want your stuff!" but fortunately our children enjoy the heirlooms we have and I suspect will treasure them themselves some day. I can see why a dinner gong would be irresistible for children to play with! ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Dotsie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post so much! I LOVE family heirlooms and hope that someday our son will have an interest in them, too. Your post spoke to me because I spent so much time with my grandparents when I was growing up (especially my maternal grandparents) and I have some of their things in our home right now. It was interesting to see your brass dinner gong; I don't know that I've ever seen one in person. How neat for it to be in your children and grandchildren's home now.
Thanks for sharing, Dotsie, and I hope you have a great weekend!
Warm hugs,
Denise