i found another old gingham apron and two more that have seen fairly good action back in the days. these aprons belonged to partner's mother. i saved whatever i could when her family decided to put her in a home and sold her farm house. imagine a whole basement being turned upside down and the relatives just looking for an antique vase that they could sell. most of her stuff were sold through an auctioneer. if the auctioneer said something had no value it went into the garbage pile.
i had to beg for two of her old books. a few trinkets were already in the garbage can and once i picked them from the garbage, i keep them because then it becomes mine. i cried that no one wanted those things that she kept dear to her heart. i managed some vintage 1920's national geographic and i brought them with me to manila so my sister can have them.
but these aprons were hand embroidered and i felt so bad i had to pick them up from the garbage pile in 2001. the blue and the black were slightly used, while the other two are still useful but their edges have frayed.
Isn't it a shame that some people totally disregard what is special to a person? I don't understand that. If anything I'd think that if someone cared about it, I'd give it to them. I'm glad that you did manage to gather some things and save them. I'm sure your partner appreciates it too. Lovely vintage aprons and a nicely composed shot.
@sunnygreenwood - thank you, anne. partner's mother was born in 1907 and so she had kept a lot of her own mother's stuff (her mother died when she was just 10). so i know what they meant to her. but her children and grandchildren were more interested in 'the turn of the century vase that would fetch thousands of dollars!' well the vase turned out to have a crack so it wasn't worth much. it's disgusting that i was the only one who cared and i wasn't even related to her.
@olivetreeann - actually, partner won't let me keep any of his mother's stuff. but as i said, once i picked up somethng from the garbage pile, it's mine. after i did it, they'd be looking at what i picked up. i stood my ground on the hat box because i know i can manage to keep it, unlike the travelling chest. they all laughed at me. but i'm sure partner's own grandkids would appreciate them when they grow up. i intend to continue keeping most of her stuff for those two kids. if she's looking down from wherever her soul is, i'm sure she appreciates it. thank you, ann.
you speak of an issue that terrifies me. the fine line between hoarding everything as many of my great aunts and grandmothers did, and throwing away every memory as my mother in law does. I so don't want to fall on either side and yet don't know how well I balance. I finally take tons of pictures and then let a lot of the items go bless someone else.
oh the stories those aprons hold! I'm so glad you pulled those things out of the garbage. I would have been crying, too. You saw the real value in the things that held her heart.....just glad you were there. I love these aprons!
April 29th, 2012
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
