Sentimental Attachments

Isn't it funny?..The sentimental attachments we develop for our possessions. For me, in this particular case, it was my Nanna's dining table setting. My Mother recently told me that Nanna bought this table second hand when she was young, sanded it back and did it up.....hmm, must run in the family then. I didn't know that little tid-bit originally. My mother and her siblings grew up around this table and then me, my brother and cousins also grew up around it. I remember crawling under it and playing through the weirdly angled legs when i was really little while all my Aunties and Uncles congregated above. My Poppa would sit at "The Head" of the table, as was the custom and My Nanna would sit on the side and I would always try to score the seat between them, to enjoy Nanna's Cooking. We all know Nanna's cooking. It is the best. I remember my cousin used to tell her, "Nanna, you make the best tinned spaghetti." and he'd get this silly grin on his face. It sounded so nuts, we'd all laugh but she had that little extra touch that made everything taste better. She really was a great Nanna. When i scored that wicked position between Nanna and Poppa, i remember Poppa would always distract me, he would tap me on the shoulder, "Look, Whats that over there?" he would say and point across the house. When i would look, he would pinch all my yummy baked potatoes. It would take me a few seconds but when i clued on, i would look at him and he would be silently laughing just waiting for me to click on......Its just such a fond memory. Cheekiness is definitely a strong family trait and it comes from BOTH sides of my family so I never had a chance.
Anyway. Sometime after my Grandparents had passed, I, thanks to my mother was lucky enough to gain possession of this table. We were just starting out and really needed a dining setting. All the memories came flooding back and i was so sentimental about it, it was surreal that it was in my house.
A few years has passed and the sentimental novelty had worn off, a few chairs have gone and the ones that remain are not being used anymore because they are so uncomfortable. The angle from the chair to the seat was 90deg and they were rock hard. We decided we needed a bigger table and decided to sell it. We bought a new, much bigger table and suddenly had a huge storage problem, I checked with my family and it was good to go. so I put it up for sale. SOLD! Ok, finally we will get some space back i thought. The guy comes to pick it up and as he loads it into his car, I lost it. It crept up on me, i wasn't even thinking about it. But it just crept into my thoughts as i watched him tying it down, "that was my table, I grew up around that. My mum did too", and i just cry.
Look i'm not some insane whack job honest. Let me make this clear, i wasn't on my hands and knees begging the guy not to take my table... Screaming out "Whhhhyyyy, Why did i do this!!!??" It was a silent trickle of a few tears that just crept up on me, i said goodbye to the guy and went into the backyard. My husband came out, having heard little sniffles and asked me what was wrong. I just looked at him and laughed. It was a touch embarrassing i'll admit. He just realised on his own and gave me this look like OMG (you know like when you're caught crying in a movie). He reached out a pulled me over and said, "Come 'ere you little shkip" and gave me a hug and rubbed my back...Yep i know, I'm a sook. Right Here. That's ME.
I still have little reminders of my Nanna here. The Rocking chair in the twins room, we use to calm them at night, some costume jewellery, all my pots and pans, i call them "Nanna's Pots" and i think about her every time i pull one out to use and thats almost every day. I like it that way.
Now we have OUR table, one we chose, we can fit 8 comfortably, 10 at a squeeze. Now we've started making our own memories around it. We had our first sleep overs on the weekend and woke up to a house full of people. We made chocolate chip pancakes for all the kids. It was lovely to have a full house in the morning.
But once again, isn't it funny, The sentimental attachments we develop for our possessions?

The Little Things

Lately, i've become all too aware of how much we, in our house, rely on the television for entertainment. In the last 10years, i have become a total lounge lizard. I'm pretty sure i've said in a previous post. I HATE MY COUCH. Maybe its because its not the right couch for me, we bought it for looks at the time and didn't really think about the comfort of it. Maybe its because we (my couch and I) have become too close and our relationship has soured. My family and I are starting to really enjoy the outdoors again. Starting to come out of our little cocoon and socialise. I am so lucky where I live. I have a lovely quiet street with great neighbours that we get along with and sometimes hang out at the end of the day, we help each other wear our kids out for dinner and bedtime. The girls have finally become big enough for a helmet which pretends to protect them in their little bike trailer. Seriously? Baby helmets need a.......re-model.

We I have become completely addicted to riding. I am beginning to ride everywhere. Now we have borrowed our neighbours bike trailer and are just about to buy our own. Sean is big enough to ride his bike by himself (with us) all the way down to the lake or up to the shops where we live. I'm finding our relationships are improving since we've started taking time AWAY from the television. Conversation has reappeared, patience for the little ones and interaction is growing too. The girls are starting to really interact with Sean and he is so happy about that. We had so much fun on our first ride, we rode up to the shops for Hubby's paper, then down to the lake for a coffee and for Seany to have a play. Then on the way home, we stopped at the park for a little break and a bit of a reward for Seany's huge ride. The kids had a blast...So did Daddy and of course it makes my heart flutter when everyone is happy.

It means we are doing our job right. Right?