So many items around the house hold memories of happy times for me. This arrangement was just sitting on the table in front of me this morning. The mug is from a local potter that sells his work at the Farmer's Market. We have bought several pieces from him over the years. His work says Ithaca to me, as it was one of the first things I fell in love with when we moved here, and his booth is a place I look forward to visiting every spring when the market opens again. I've had coffee from this mug many mornings with Doug. Sleepy tea, on many evenings.
The die reminds me of the many games Doug, Ethan and I have enjoyed playing together. Ethan was using it the other day to be a special character in Risk, while Doug and I battled each other in an attempt to conquer the world. The comb came from a washroom in a hotel in Tokyo. I remember Ethan jumping up and down with excitement over finding it with the soaps, opening the package it was housed in, and discovering what it was. He thought the fold-up design was really cool. He asked me to comb his hair the other evening, and this is what I found to use. The table the items sit on is our first dining table as a family. We bought that in Pittsburgh after we purchased and moved into our first house. Our friends had the exact same dining set. I changed the seat covers when we moved to Ithaca. I'll change them again when we move out west.
There's hardly a day that goes by that something doesn't catch my eye and remind me of a happy moment in time. That time could have been a few moments ago, or it could have been decades. Some people are eager to get rid of stuff -- to simplify. I understand that desire. I feel it too at times when the clutter seems like it has taken on a life of it's own. But, so many of the items I live with are like old friends. That might not seem healthy to some, to be attached to things, but for me it means daily reminders of a life well lived. And, that makes me happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment