Antiques…they have my heart. There’s a deep seeded
appreciation within me for those who came before us – and how beautifully their
former lives are represented today. Like a window into the past, they remind us
of where we came from. They connect us to our roots.
Last week, Dusty and I snuck in a mini-date while Mackenzie was at dance class. We went to one of my all-time favorite places – it’s an old cotton mill in the older part of town that has been transformed into a massive antique emporium, stuffed to the gills with rented vendor spaces, each offering a different part of history. It’s called The Depot at Gibson Mill, and it’s like heaven on earth to a girl like me. It’s also a place that my husband and I have silently declared as “our place”. Just the two of us, hand in hand in silent comfort, wandering and weaving our way through the maze of aisles that are filled with beauty and wonder that cannot be expressed in words.
It has this magic - almost as if it takes me back in time - I think of my Great Grammy Gram Arlene cooking supper for
the family on her mint green stove, circa 1925, with fresh corn picked just
steps from their front door. It came from the same cornfield my brother and I picked from years later as children. I remember her sitting in her rocking chair on the
porch with us as we shucked the corn and chatted. And I remember how much I’ve missed that since
she’s been gone.
I think of my Grampy Gramp, Homer . Such a hard workin’ man
he was – a farmer, a craftsman, a creator. I wonder if that’s where I get that
part of my soul…or if it’s his way of living on within me, even though he is no
longer here. I think of all of the amazing things he invented, many of them
long before their time. I think about the
feature he got in the local newspaper when he transformed his water wheel by creating a system that would automatically open a door on the side, allowing
for a life size scarecrow-esque man to lean out and wave at those passing by.
As children my brother and I lived for running down his huge hill, playing hide
and seek in his corn field, and riding on the special swing he built that was
shaped like an airplane. I remember the looks on their faces as they watched us
laugh and play – they were so proud.
Even though many of the antiques at The Depot came long before my days on
this earth began, somehow they still give me that feeling of nostalgia,
transporting me back to a time when things seemed much simpler. Less chaotic.
More grounded.
As we meander through the aisles, we come upon a vendor space, and immediately the scent of lavender fills my nostrils. It immediately takes me back to our wedding day. The vintage theme, the rustic feel of the decor, the lavender that filled my bouquet and adorned the front doors of the crisp white 1940's antique dairy barn where we exchanged vows. That scent is representative of so many things: our special day, the love we share, and the memories that go along with it.
The beautiful blue mason jars remind me of those that adorned the tables at our wedding, filled with daisies and greenery. The soft ambiance of the atmosphere as the candles flickered in the evening Spring air. The night we became a family.
It's amazing how sentimental all of these little windows of the past have become to me. Antiques...those little treasures that live on regardless of when their era ended. They hold my memories. My hopes. My dreams...and my heart.
