I have been reading comments on our facebook page about now the appreciation of beautiful vintage pieces are lost on the up and coming generations. With heart breaking comments abouts daughters and grand daughters not interested or wanting what their mothers, grandmothers or even great grandmothers treasures. There was much discussion about taking these precious story filled pieces to op shops or charity shops, so that some good may come of them.
I have been stewing over these comments, because in truth i have just wanted to reach out and hug those people, I want to shout DONT YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE SIGNIFICANT AND LOVED, THEY DO NOT YET KNOW THE SIGNIFICANT OF THOSE PRECIOUS TREASURES.
Treasures are just like old, lost shoes!!!!! They play a important part in our lives, we need them, and we don't know they're lost until we go to find them!
As Parents and Grandparent and if we are blessed enough Great Grandparents, I reckon we spend at least a third of our lives running around looking for shoes!
As a mother to toddlers it would drive me crazy that I could only ever find one shoe! It was usually as I wanted to walk out the door! I would dive head first into the shoe box or closet and shoes that belonged to every member of our 15 strong family would have their shoes flung in the air only with a muttering of "how can you only have one of so many shoes!"
Then only to turn around and see it in the dogs mouth or a cocky teenage holding it out to you saying "it was under the couch or table or chair" then turning on their heal like they are the CEO of a very large important company.
Or when your babies are growing and off to school or kindy and they believe that your favourite saying is "where are your shoes?" "Get your shoes?" "What do you mean you dont know?" "You need shoes".
And as teenagers its "Mum have you seen my shoes?" "Mum I cant find my shoes!"
Then as they turn into young adults, we are the ones looking for our shoes!, and where do we find them most often? On the feet of our children!
One day when the weather was turning, winter was just starting to appear, I bought myself pink fluffily slippers, the are soft and warm and after a long day at work in real shoes, my feet and mind are eager to rest in their pink warm fluffiness.
On this particular day one of our sons had come home to stay. He is tall, 5 foot 11 (and still growing), he is lean and his mustach is just starting to appear, he has a cheeky grin and walks around most of the time without a shirt on ( I have no clue why ).
I come in from work, it is cold and blowing outside (the west coast wind in New Zealand does its upmost best to knock you off your feet), and I am looking forward to putting on my pink fluffy slippers. Our son is in the kitchen, standing in front of a mirror posing and admiring his arm muscles and I go to put on my slippers, but I cant find them, surely I am not losing my brain cells just yet!!!
I come into the kitchen and you guessed my lanky, muscled up, posing son is standing with no shirt on looking in the mirror with MY PINK FLUFFLY SLIPPERS ON!! His feet are too big and his heals are hanging off the end, he looks at me with such innocents and says "but they warm".
Sometimes, we as human beings are so busy finding lost shoes or trying to get out the door, or just trying to live life, that we don't see what is sometimes right in front of us, nor do we take the time to rejoice and laugh in the found lost shoe.
I will put my hand up I was that person, that daughter, granddaughter, niece, I took it for granted that my shoes (treaures) would be always at the door. That my mother would always be home, that there was time .......for more.
Now, when there is no more time, I look at the teacups that have been past down to at least 2 generations, and I realise that they are all I have of her, they reminder me that my beautiful mother wanted nothing more than to share her life with me, to hand me her treasure so that I could carry some physical of her when she was gone.
So maybe the no that is being heard now, is really the lost shoe, maybe they have not yet found it, maybe they don't yet release its lost or maybe they have not yet learnt to be still and rejoice in the finding of something so significant, so brilliant, so tangible, so beautiful as a lost shoe or treasure.
So, maybe just wait, maybe hold onto what is precious, to your treasure, maybe bring it out and have tea with them or eat together on those precious plates, laugh, not just a small laugh but a head thrown back, shoulder shaking, hearty deep laugh, Tell a secret, share a story, Make space for them to take a minute to be still and rejoice in the finding of something they didn't even know was lost!!
Wait, don't sell your story, your treasure just yet, let them decide, give them the shoe, say it was here all a long then turn on your heel like your the CEO of a very important Company!!
