At any rate, between our usual busy time at work, I've also been dealing with some personal stuff. About a week ago, my parents house caught fire. Thankfully, everyone is ok and that is truly the main thing! Unfortunately, the back side of their house is trashed! Once we got over the shock, we realized that our family truly does deal with things with humor as there have been many jokes.
I've never had a childhood home. With my father being in the Air Force, I spent most of my years in base housing. I was very lucky though, in the fact that no matter where we lived or what kind of house it was, it was always home. My parent's weren't (and still aren't) wealthy but every place we lived in had a home filled with love and memories. Most of our memories can be conjured by looking at certain items in the house. No matter where we lived, I always knew home by the things around me - a house decorated for tradition, family, and comfort and not for show.
My mother was one of 10 children. Obviously, my grandparents didn't have any money and most of our "family heirlooms" were probably purchased using Green Stamps at the grocery store. I remember it being my job to lick the stamps and put them in the books.
One such purchase was our famous Turkey platter. Yes, this is just what it sounds like - a platter with a picture of a turkey on it. It graced many of my childhood Thanksgiving dinners back East until it eventually came to reside with my mother a few years prior to my beloved Nana's death. We used that platter faithfully every Thanksgiving and it was well known amongst my siblings and I that the platter would eventually pass on to me as the oldest child and the only one with children.
Once, my mother, sister and I were at an indoor flea market. I was marvelling over the booths filled with junk that was so similar to many items we had in our house. Things that others would easily view as junk but to the right person would hold precious memories. I turned a corner and busted out laughing - calling my mother over at the same time. My mother came over, thinking, I'm sure that her oldest had finally lost her mind, and stopped dead and joined my giggling. There, sitting in pride of place in this booth was the exact same turkey platter. Selling for a whopping $2.50. Once the giggling subsided, I thanked my mother for my fantastic inheritance.
We don't know what items will be salvaged from the kitchen (the worst of the damage) and the fear is that turkey platter will be lost forever. However, it is good to know that my parents will be able to claim their $2.50 loss back from insurance!
That lovely plastic covered hole you see is the kitchen
The view from the other side of the plasticOn the upside, my mother finally gets to remodel!
