Making the most of your "treasures"

This is my second blog today, inspired by an entry in the blog by my friend Janice.

In 1997 I lived next door to an elderly couple and very far from my family. I had my dog, Mr. Smith for company, and they had an equally small terrier named "Lady". Smitty and Lady introduced the Chapman's and myself one afternoon when they made friends over a particularly nice peony they were enjoying a sniff of together.

Afterwards, I was adopted into the Chapman family. I had dinner with them three to four days a week, shared in their stories about their lives, and in exchange mowed their grass and walked their dog. It was quite a steal on my part, and many an evening I would snuggle down into the afghan on their sofa while Gerald told stories about the depression and his brothers. Eleanor would pretend she had never heard the story before and sitting very close to the edge of her seat and leaning in toward Gerald to hear every syllable he uttered, she would squeal and clap her hands at all the right moments, making for a very captive audience- only interrupting to inform Gerald of a pivotal part of the story he had left out.

The Chapmans loved family. They not only raised their four children, but then three of their grand children and subsequently one of their great grandchildren while a favorite grandchild attended college. They never locked their door, and shouted "come in" to anyone who knocked without even checking to see if it be friend or foe. But the the Chapmans didn't know a foe!

One evening I was visiting when their granddaughter and great granddaughter came for a visit. On the coffee table was one of Eleanor's prized possessions- a burgundy and gold fenton art glass biscuit barrel that had been a gift from a friend. Eleanor didn't decorate her home very much- mostly things that laid out for view were papers, piano books, and family portrait albums. However, she adored a pretty candy dish and changed out which one she displayed every week, thoughtfully refilled with candy and then placed in the center of her coffee table. The dishes contents were offered to every guest, no matter how new or frequent a visitor to the Chapman home.

We were all watching the news and they showed a clip about a new musical called "Stomp". Seven year old Brianna remarked that she could very easily be in that musical. Her pap-paw agreed and reached for something nearby to make noise on. Eleanor picked up a coffee cup and started rattling the spoon inside. Brianna's mother grabbed a pot from the kitchen, and then taking cue from her family, Brianna dumped the contents of the fenton candy dish onto the carpet and started banging the top of the lovely glass jar onto the base. I think I gasped! Eleanor looked at her and said "that makes a really nice sound" and went into her kitchen and brought back a second glass candy dish to also bang on. And for the next five minutes everyone banged loudly on their candy dishes and pots while Brianna laughed giddily. It was snowing outside and I remember wondering if I would have to shovel the sidewalk the next morning. The Chapmans had an oil furnace and their home was very snug and warm. From the forced air furnace, and from their bond with their family and all the generations within.

In my parents home, good dishes and good china are tucked safely behind glass doors and protected from accidental breakage or abuse. In my home I had done the same- visiting my precious china only on holidays and special occasions. Always, always, putting them safely away again when through.

Eleanor Chapman developed cancer that summer and passed away quickly, in her own home, surrounded by her family. Her husband asked me to pick one thing from her home to keep as a remembrance. The family had already chosen their momentos. I chose the fenton biscuit barrel. Its one of my favorite glasswares in my home, and I cherish the memory of the evening that her great granddaughter was allowed to nearly destroy it, all for the fun of song and love of company.

I hope that a bit of the Chapman spirit lives on inside of me, and I never become so attached to my things that I forget the people who can enjoy them and the memories we create when we celebrate these people with our "glass and china treasures". And that I never forget to keep a dish in my home filled with candy, for every guest- no matter how new or frequent a visitor to my home.