Reminiscing About Little Mice and Kitties and Christmases Past.

This time of year I always miss my parents the most.  They both passed away within a couple years of each other not too long ago, and I’m still not sure if I’m used to the idea.  They were both born in December, so not only Christmas but two birthdays – remembering the dates and trying to figure out their ages and what to get them – was sometimes a month long project.

When we cleaned out their house back in California many of my mother’s curios made their way into my cabinets.  She’d worked in gift shops for years in the evenings and loved bringing home little figurines, dolls and pieces of china that she fell in love with during her shift.

The little mice and cool cats that peek out from among my collection of china and glassware aren’t pieces I’d pick out for myself necessarily, but they really express my mom’s personality.  She loved the notion of gum chewing and musical instrument playing critters – that somewhere there was another reality that was far more gentle and amusing than the one she knew.

I love her pink glasses and matching china pattern too.  I can remember when our family was large and unified, these pieces laid out on the table were so elegant.  When they were finally handed off to me they were cracked and stained from many years of wear.  Baking soda and peroxide cleaned them up, but they still belong to Christmases past.

Tagged as: cats, china, christmas, figurines, glasses, holiday, mice