Great Aunt Sophie’s Fancy Dishes

Great Aunt Sophie’s Fancy Dishes

Easter came along with a hint of Spring, snow almost gone, a warmish breeze, and sunshine - in other words a perfect Easter Sunday! This year we decided to celebrate Easter with roast turkey, stuffing and pie, all served to a few guests with as much flair as I could muster. Thanks to Great Aunt Sophie I have a set of fancy dishes and can set a festive table. Also, as is our tradition, we helped the Easter bunny out by stocking up on candy. We like to have candy on hand for both Easter and Halloween, in case a child should happen to come our way, but our motive is suspect in this respect. In the end, we always eat the candy ourselves.

I never knew my Mom’s aunt Sophie but somehow, through my Mom and then my sister, her lovely company dishes ended up in my possession, along with matching flatware from my mom. People tell me they could be valuable (old, intact, French) and occasionally, when I’m in one of those downsizing modes, I think I should sell them on Kijiji. But then I think no, they came to me from family members who have passed on so I should use them in their memory. That’s how I’ve always felt about the physical reminders that I have inherited. Every time I look at a painting of my Dad’s or my sister’s, a vase or a crocheted blanket of my mom’s, grandma’s treadle sewing machine, that old clock that used to chime, I’m reminded of people who once were a part of my life, and it’s always good to remember those we have loved. Slowly time takes a toll - things break, stop working, go out of fashion (thinking here of my mom-n-law’s fur stole, with little critter heads, beady eyes and paws). Memories fade, and then one day everything remaining is passed on once again. 

We have no control over what happens to all our stuff after we’re gone. Sure we can make a list of who gets what, but from there it’s up to recipients to treasure, recycle or trash. Stories live on, memories pop up, time marches on. Who knows, maybe some day a great great grandchild of ours will be using something that once belonged to us. “Oh,” she’ll say, “this once belonged to my great great grandparents. I never met them but I’ve heard lots of stories. They lived in the bush in the middle of Alberta way back in the 1900’s. Granddad tells me their old log cabin is still standing.”

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April 7, 2024