The Meal

What a beautiful day yesterday was!!  We had a wonderful meal; stress-less and tasty.  The turkey came out perfectly...and we have enough left over for turkey sandwiches over the weekend.

I have a friend that I have known for 22 years and have worked with for about 10 years; I have grown to love her dearly.  She is invaluable as she really keeps me focused with at work.  We are also both foodies and love to talk about recipes and cookbooks.  She also has a lot of wisdom in dealing with life.

One day a few weeks ago, while we had a couple of seconds, we got onto the topic of china. I told my friend about my great grandmother's China that has been in the family since 1925.  Grandma Wyckoff bought it either from someone one she knew or brand new for around $500.00.  We aren't really sure. But just imagine how much money that was 88 years ago!  It still is a lot in my book.  But, my Grandma Wyckoff liked nice things. Yet, she was clever about how she purchased her home furnishings.  Tragically, the house caught fire on a cold night in January, 1980.  My Grandpa Wyckoff was killed in the fire; he was 89.  My Grandma died 6 years prior in a nursing home.

Much was lost in that fire - so many things that evoked memories were simply gone.  Only a few things were left; tables, chairs, Grandma's overstuffed chair that she sat in to do her sewing, the table that held the lamp she used to see with.  And the china cabinet survived with all the china in it.  My Grandma Marsh ended up with the china, only she never used it.  Never.  She was afraid to use it, and she didn't want to spend the time washing the pieces by hand.  Those pieces could not go into the dish washer since they were rimmed with 24 carat gold.  So, they sat for 43 years!  Well, almost.  My mom recently reminded me that we used them about 10 years ago for Christmas dinner at her house. 

Mom finally decided that the best place for the china was with me.  And I intend to use it on a regular basis.  It's value, to me, lies in it being used and loved rather than safely stored in a cabinet never seeing the light of day.  I want my daughters to acquire an emotional bond with these dishes.  I hope that doesn't sound too silly, but I simply wish that my girls to see and use the china to keep a new tradition going and to make a connection across my family's generations.