Monday, April 4, 2011

Conversation Pieces

In our house, the girls and I have lots of stuff with stories.  We have a magic 8 ball bathroom scale, which no longer gives you the correct weight, but gives up a good guess every time you shake it.  Our weight veers from a pound up to 400. We could throw it out, but why?  It's funny, and our clothes tell us when we are gaining weight, anyway.

In our car, we have the next to last Mimzy.  It was passed out among other Mimzys after Sarah and her friend Hannah went to see "Meet the Robinsons."  Sarah did not get the last Mimzy, we think Hannah did, so ours must be the next to last one.  Still, a very special childhood souvenier.  And maybe magical as well.

We collect plates and china, nothing valuable, but fun and interesting to us.  I love Smurf and Care Bears glasses; too bad they break so easily anymore.  We also collect interesting china plates, most from my dad's province of Upper Silesia, others from around the world.  I have a plate stamped on its back with "Made in American Occupied Japan."  It must have been made soon after the war and traveled to Iowa, where I bought it.  It might be the last intact plate of a set, with a story all its own. 

Then, there are all those stories we carry with us, to haul out and dust off and share with someone new.  Trey and I spent a great weekend with some of my family and, just as importantly, with each other.  There were things I learned about him, when he lived where and how his life progressed to bring him to the Midwest and to me.  And, I know he learned alot about me, as I chatted with family and shared nuggets of funny and a few things more sad than funny. 

And that's the thing about conversation pieces, and the stories we share.  We all have items and moments from our pasts to share, but they are useless without someone to share them with.  Most of this past weekend, I kept thinking, "I am completely happy right now.  There is nothing I would rather be doing, and no one I would rather be with than Trey at this moment."

If anyone reading this weighs himself (herself) at our house, do not be alarmed.  If you are in my car and see a small cloth bunny staring at you, do not make direct eye contact.  Please don't break our oddball china collection, but if you do, we then have the joy of shopping for more mismatched pieces.  If you come over and ask about the weird things we own, both tangible and remembered, we will tell you.  If you ask my girls, though, they might just make something up. They are conversation generators all on their own. 

1 comment:

  1. Ha - you made me smile. So glad you are capturing these day to day treasures in your writing. Someday the girls will look back and enjoy these stories all over again - perhaps with their own children.

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