silver lining

When we moved, we lost our silver.  

It was an heirloom set, albeit incomplete, passed down from Mr. Kenobi's grandmother.  We had carefully packed it in its wooden box, but as we unpacked items in our new home, it remained missing.  I couldn't fathom somebody stealing it, especially since I carefully labeled the box without indicating valuable silver inside.  No items seemed to be missing, but that silver was never found.  In any case, silver place settingsis not something we can afford to replace right now, so we've had a few holiday dinners here with our fine china and everyday mismatched silverware. 

It felt odd losing something, without choosing to let it go.  Still, that loss has sometimes empowered me to send other things (often of less value) out of my home.  If I can do without 3-generation silver, I can do without a Johnny Jump-up, right?  

Today, I felt like purging things from storage.  We had some baby items that need to go.  While I'm not claiming to be done having babies, I don't think I need to keep everything we've had - especially if some things remain basically unused from the first two Kenobis.  We were typical first-time parents, and purchased or received tons of bottle supplies, plastic plates & "sporks" for little hands.  Not only did many plans and ideas change, but Obi-1 turned out to be quite resistant to bottles.  In fact, most of our collection of this stuff remained unused.  

So, I decided the baby bottles and other similar stuff should go to somebody who needs it now, and I'll worry about replacing or borrowing items if and when I need them some day.  I was tempted to take the whole thing to a charity or friend, but thought better of it and went through items to make sure I didn't give away something I actually wanted to keep.  I hauled out the box labeled "baby kitchen items," and started loading a paper bag with things.  Suddenly, I looked into the bottom and saw a familiar wooden box.  Our silver.  There, under rarely used baby cups and plastic ware was rarely used sterling silver.

My aunt used to tell me to look for reasons to use my nice dishes & silver.  "Make a celebration, if you need to," she'd say.  "Just use that because you'll feel good about it and good about the reason you're celebrating."  

It's good advice.  Perhaps finding the box of utensils can be my reason this time.  Maybe it's the fact that I'm finally moving forward and letting go of baby life.  Maybe it's because my baby is turning five next week.   Whatever the reason, it's time to bring out the nice dishes and make a new recipe.  What was lost has now been found.