A Vintage Platter & Holiday Chatter

I was the very happy recipient of this vintage rectangular platter while down to the Cities to spend time with the whole family over the holiday weekend. Mum had recently bought it at “La Garage” (a thrift/antique kind of store) and in an effort to simplify & declutter her cupboards in anticipation of their upcoming move, she offered it to me without hesitating as she was drying it off after just having used to it for our Fourth of July feast. She thought I could sell it in my upcoming yard sale. Yet I thought maybe I’d use it myself. And I have…I’ve already used it twice since being back home less than 48 hours. Perhaps I’m just trying to convince myself of its necessity and usefulness so I don’t feel obligated to add it to my ever-growing piles of things for my very first yard sale. Besides, I don’t have a rectangular platter…many oval and round ones, sure, but not rectangular!

Now to the 4th itself. Being with family, no matter the occasion, is always a bit bittersweet for me since our move last year. We cram in as much as we can, and then the sheer physical and emotional exhaustion overwhelms me as we head back home, leaving all our beloved family until next time. I’m hoping this will feel natural in time. But for now, it is a bit extreme for me. A bit exhausting to pack, travel, unpack, sleep in a bed not my own (but still lovely nonetheless, mum!), catch up on life, laugh, talk, hug, play with all the little ones, and pack up again, get back in the car, and take a deep breath and realize anew, after each visit, that life is quite different now.

Someone once said you can never go home again and I feel I really understand that now. Once you leave your home, where you spent your life growing up, going to school, getting married, and starting out in life…and then you leave that…well, it just never is quite the same when you go back. The same places are still there and the familiar faces, but there is a sense that it will never be experienced in quite the same way it once was. It was home for so long but it will not be anymore. So for now, until my mind and body learn how to flow seamlessly between these 2 important spheres (my new home and my old one), I will have to grow accustomed to the mixed emotions and inner turmoil that occurs with each visit. Perhaps it lessens over time. Perhaps the visits become less of a big deal, with less of a feeling as though you need to cram in so much in the precious hours spent together.
And perhaps it’s a good thing too. Perhaps you cherish family more, you hold on to the important things and let go of the things that don’t really matter. You enjoy the moments, the quality of them. You store them up in your mind and you treasure them more now. And you learn not to take things for granted. Each day is a gift. Our freedom a blessing.
Reflecting back on my 4th of July weekend, I realize it’s the small, often overlooked, things that matter. Like the great amount of love & comfort poured out from everyone to one of the “little ones” who got her first bee sting. The celebration of this little one’s birthday with a “bday jeep ride” sign to honor her. The lovingly prepared homemade food. The tiny symbolic flags to decorate cupcakes. The lawn chairs outside and the carefree-ness of tossing a frisbee. The fireworks, in and of themselves are not important, but the fact that they bring people together to celebrate our nation's independence. The family fireworks display of sparklers, shooting tanks, and little fountains. No other day of the year would we all be outside until 11:00 pm lighting up small explosive matter. Yet on this day, we come together and laugh and cheer over these small, seemingly insignificant triumphs. So it truly was a wonderful weekend, full of many blessings, inner turmoil & all! ;)