I was washing the dishes earlier this evening, admiring the tiny flower/rose pattern on the dinnerware complete with the gold paint around the rim and thought about how these dishes used to belong to my paternal grandmother. They were her special dinnerware, used at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. I loved family gatherings at those holidays because I knew these dishes would be used. But, for Sunday dinners and other, non-holiday events, other dishes were used while these Rosa rugosa plates spent most of the time carefully wrapped in paper towels, inside a special zippered plate case.
When my grandmother died and then my grandfather nine months later, I inherited this set of dishes. My parents didn't need them and they knew I loved looking at them. So, they entered my household where I used them for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, carefully washing them before the holiday feast, and again after the meal. I hand-dried each plate before wrapping it in paper towels and packing it away in its special case. When my sons were little, we didn't even use the plates, for fear when one of the boys would break a dish.
This continued for many, many years until finally, something shifted inside me. About a year ago I thought, why am I eating my meals on these chipped ceramic plates and/or plastic plates while my nice dishes sit in the pantry gathering dust and only get used three times a year? Why not enjoy the dishes on a daily basis, after all, isn't that what they were made for, to be eaten off of? So, I got rid of the chipped and plastic plates and washed enough of my grandmother's china to serve my family plus two more, in case we have friends over for a meal. Now, I get to enjoy these beautiful plates several times a day. They add color to every meal and make each dish a special one. I don't know if my grandmother would approve of her good china being used this way, but I like it-- I can't take them with me when I die and life is short, so I figure to enjoy life little moments, even those that relate to dishes.
No comments:
Post a Comment