"So, where did you go?" my boyfriend asked when I returned to his parents' house this afternoon. "Oh, I went antiquing, of course." It's been a very long, long time since I have browsed around in an antique store, so after a lovely lunch with my boyfriend's dad and sister in law at the local sub place, Home Town Hero, us girls decided to check out the Albany Antique Mall, a two story building full of someone else's stuff, but which ended up being a trip down memory lane for me.
My grandmother loved antiques, and I was one of the few members of the family that enjoyed shopping for them with her. Even as a young girl, I was always up for a trip to the antique store. We'd spend an hour or more just looking mostly and only occasionally picking up something that caught our fancy. In fact, my grandmother even once had an antique store in the front room of her home in Tennessee filled with things she'd found on her shopping trips that she resold to others. Personally, I think she just loved having antiques around her, whether or not she really cared about selling them I don't know, but I suspect it was just a fun hobby more than anything. Her home was an antique store in itself, with knick knacks and unique pieces everywhere you looked. The clutter of old things with sentimental value to her made her house feel really homey, but all those things also made it very full, just like the antique store we visited today.
As we wandered up, down, and all around the store, we discovered a couple of different, but both very beautiful and complete Noritake china sets at very reasonable prices. I, obviously, couldn't really purchase anything because I am away from home, and I am not going to risk trying to ship something back that is not only fragile, but also an antique, but it was so fun just to "window shop." Looking at those china sets reminded me of my grandmother's set that was recently packed away for me at my mom's house. I wish I could see it. I can't wait to have a home here to put it in and use with family and company just like my grandmother did. We also saw tons of Pyrex glass topped containers in all sorts of colors and patterns, which I remember in both my mom's and grandmother's homes as a child. I wouldn't mind having some of those when I move back to the states too. The depression glass is always popular too, and there was plenty of that as well, including a red rooster topped butter dish just like some my grandmother used to own.
I couldn't believe how much is still the same in antique stores. It seems like years have gone by, and some of the antiques would have changed, but it was all the same things I remember seeing and marveling at when my grandmother and I used to shop together. I love that. I love that antiques and antique stores have not changed. It 's nice to have something constant in this life, something you can depend on like family. It's been so wonderful to be here as well and see with my own eyes how the family has not changed either and to feel their love and support as always and to feel completely myself. I can be myself here, and I can trust, lean on, and depend on family. Just like antiquing, spending time with family is just as fun and whimsical an experience as it was when I was a kid, and we'd all get together at the grandparent's homes, and it's nice to have some set things and people in your life to provide stability and peace to the ever changing world around us.
No comments:
Post a Comment