I took the crescent rolls out of the oven tonight for dinner using a ratty old potholder that Mom made for me a really, long time ago. But I can't throw it out. If you'd like to read more about such potholders, you can read my other blog at http://www.momentwithmari.blogspot.com, and click on the article entitle, True Confessions of a Potholder. I just re-read it, and it made me sad b/c at the time that I originally wrote it 15 months ago, Mom was still alive, and I mentioned her making pot holders for me in the article.
I've thought about whether I should continue to use the tea towels that she embroidered or put them away to keep them safe and in-tact. But if I put them away then I can't think about her each time I dry dishes. I spent a lot of years drying dishes while Mom washed....no dishwasher back then. Mom herself would scoff at the idea of not using something just b/c it was expensive or had sentimental value. She had an elephant pitcher that she always made hot, sweet tea in for my daughters when they were little. My mother-in-law informed me many years ago that the pitcher was probably worth over $100. When I told Mom, she just laughed and said it was worth more to have her granddaughters remember the tea parties w/ the elephant pitcher.
So I conclude that the pot holders and the tea towels are immaterial for the very fact that they're material. The intangible memories they stir are much more important, so they'll stay out and visible and used.
I think I would have loved your mother if I had known her!!! I share her belief in using things despite their value. I dishwash good pans that aren't supposed to be dishwashed because otherwise I wouldn't use them. I'd rather wear them out than have perfectly preserved pans that are useless to me.
ReplyDeleteUse everything to its purpose was definitely Mom's motto. Yes, you definitely would've loved her.
ReplyDeleteOops! I'm sorry I hit it twice.
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