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February 11, 2004 There were two small checkblank boxes on the bookcase in my bedroom at the farm. One was marked with my name and labeled FRAGILE. The one below it was labeled EXTREMELY FRAGILE. Curious, I carried them downstairs and opened them. Inside were two miniature china tea sets that had obviously been badly broken and carefully repaired. Mom said they were mine. I vaguely remembered the one with the simple floral design almost completely loved off. Mom used to let me put milk and cocoa in the wee teapot for my tea parties. I have no idea how they got broken, but I was a small child and my siblings were even younger, so I suppose it’s not too surprising. Mom said she had felt so bad about them getting broken that she hadn’t had the heart to throw them away. And, finally, after all these years, she decided to try to repair them. It must have been a challenge—they had obviously been thoroughly smashed—but somehow she managed to piece them together. I suppose, technically, they are antique, or at least close to it. Had they not gotten broken, they might be quite valuable. However, having been broken and then lovingly and painstakingly repaired, they are much more valuable to me now than they were when they were whole. I hadn’t even remembered them, even after I began collecting miniature tea sets as an adult, but you can be sure that now I will never forget them! |