If you didn’t notice it, please go back and look at the photo for this post.
You’re back? Good.
As long as you didn’t cheat, you saw a photo of a well-worn handmade quilt. I love that quilt. I use it when i watch TV.
My grandma made that quilt for me. I can’t remember exactly when I got it, but if I had to guess it was somewhere around my high school graduation. So, it’s 30 to 35 years old. It’s been repaired a couple times but as you can tell that was 20+ years ago. Sadly, my grandma has been gone for close to 20 years, so no one is going to repair it again.
Some people would be horrified that I’m still using it at all. They would say I should have it locked away in a chest or maybe displayed on a wall in a dark room. But I’m not going to do either one. Why? Because that’s not what my grandma would have wanted. She didn’t think she was making art (of course she was). She made me something to keep me warn. She made it with her own hands (and a little help from my grandpa) thinking about me using it to keep myself warm. Not to lock away and think about once in a blue moon. I don’t mind the frayed or faded fabrics. I think they give it character.
Almost all of us have a grandma’s quilt. Maybe it’s a special dress (or lingerie) you’re saving for the perfect occasion. Maybe it’s grandma’s dishes or your aunt’s candlesticks you inherited that you never use. Maybe it’s the earrings your parents gave you when you graduated.
Whatever it is- USE IT.
Do you really think your parents/ grandparents/ etc. really want you to just haul their gifts around every time you move and then never think about them until you move again? Think about gifts you’ve given. You expect the recipient to use and enjoy them, right? You’d probably be a bit offended if you discovered that book you gave your brother is in a box in the attic because he’s waiting for the perfect occasion to look at it.
It’s the same with gifts you have received. The giver passing on doesn’t change the usefulness or the thoughtfulness of the gift. Your parents/ grandparents/ etc. would be rolling over in their graves if they knew their passing made the presents they took time and money to choose for you off limits forever.
How do I know this?
My grandpa was a master wood worker. For my 10th birthday he made me a jewelry box. At his 90th birthday party we set up a small display of some of our favorite items he’s made for us over the years and I took my jewelry box. Grandpa offered to make me a new one- he said he could make a much nicer one now. I told him absolutely not- I was (and still am) perfectly happy with the one I’ve had since I was 10. He was truly, deeply touched that I still treasured- and more importantly was still using- something he had crafted for me so long before.
Yes, that nearly 45 year old walnut box is still where my jewelry lives today. Not just because it fits nicely on my dresser. Because that’s what grandpa wanted.