July 28, 2009
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Pride and Denial
Sometimes I feel like I make up for being the most irresponsible creature in the world, by adding “foolish” and “silly” to the mix for balance. Somehow, out of eight great-granddaughters, I’m the lucky one who ended up inheriting my Great Grandma’s wedding china. As thrilled and fortunate as I feel about that, I often wish it had gone to someone else. In fact, up until a few days ago I didn’t even think it existed anymore, thats how badly my possession of it has gone. The precious stuff made it safely to Ohio after we got married, but it was the hasty retreat back to California six months later that was its demise. I don’t know if I didn’t pack it well enough, or I just don’t know the proper way to pack China. Whatever the case, somewhere in Arizona we went over a speed bump so fast the trailer got air, and the box of china went up and down where it landed with a mighty crash. Such was the state of my heartbreak, I couldn’t even look at the poor box of broken heirlooms for weeks. Entire generations worth of memories and heritage gone in a single misplaced mishap caused by poorly painted pavement.
How my Grandmie could go 80 years without breaking anything but one teacup, when her hapless great grandaughter couldn’t make it 6 months without destroying the entire set is beyond me. Obviously. One day I finally nudged the box with my toe and heard the depressing sound of tinkling broken glass and decided I just wasn’t ready to open the box. As long as it was closed I could pretend that it was still whole.
I managed that kind of denial for almost six years, until this weekend I was cleaning out the garage and finally worked up the courage to open the box. I tearfully picked broken glass out of the newspaper only to discover, piece by piece that all my china was actually…completely unscathed. Someone, (presumably myself) had set a pottery barn drinking glass in the top of the box and it was the guilty culprit making all the broken glass sound effects. Everything else was in tip top shape. I couldn’t believe it. All that guilt for nothing, and all those years I had a full set of china and didn’t use it.Bah!
Thats a lesson for me.
Comments (9)
I can relate. Although on a much less grand/dramatic scale. I feel like I’m forever losing important and expensive gifts. My dad had a custom made ring done for me out of tanzanite when we were on a cruse as a teenager that I lost, and my dad’s boss gave us a gorgeous wooden bowl for our wedding that got lost in the move. Haven’t seen it since last summer. The list goes on. I’m so glad to hear it worked out for you though and you now have a gorgeous set of china!
Can you say “miracle”? Amazing!!
That’s awesome! I recently did the same with my birthday bracelet from Michael – thought we lost it going to the Harbucks’ for their 10th anniversary party. Um, it was in a mug by my bedside table all along.
aw! so sweet. Now you have fine china to use
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To be as klutzy as I am, I rarely break anything
I wonder why.
^That’s me too the only thing I break is myself. I’m glad you found out it wasn’t broken I would probably have thrown away the box without looking in it :/
Wow- what a story!
I was actually about to cry about your broken heirloom china… that’s how sentimental I feel about such things. What does the china look like? I can’t wait to see it!
I want to see pictures!
I would love to see pictures of the china too! I love dishes!! Also, the photo is awesome…I was just thinking how i would like an 11 x 14 print.