This is about antique people.
On Mother's Day my husband and I journeyed to the home where his 89 year old mother is now residing. It is a small, picturesque site in the country. The main house was hosting refreshments and a d.j. with karaoke. It got rather lively. Some patients sang, some danced, some were danced with at their seats or in their wheelchairs. Music and dance stimulates the brain and heart into regular rhythms that their bodies once had naturally. A little caffeine helped too. There was one family of several siblings that sang really well together. The grandchildren rattled a tambourine now and then. Their mother/grandmother obviously recognized their melodic voices.
We brought along a soft gray kitten. You can't help but smile when you see or touch a kitten. She got quite a work out being passed from lap to lap. The caretakers were in on it too. It stimulated lots of conversation about cats once owned and loved but not forgotten.
After leaving there we stopped back by the Antique Gallery to take a few pictures of the kitten posed with items in my own booth. Well, I was overwhelmed with on-lookers. Then a couple caught my eye as they passed by. She was holding tightly to his arm and her eyes starred ahead. I asked him if she might like to see the kitten and his response was to put his hand in front of her face to indicate that she couldn't "see". I placed her hand on the kitten and asked, "Would you like to look at the kitten?" Her entire face lit up.
As I ran her hand over the kitten and around its foot she cooed, "Oh, she's sooo tiny. So soft."
I hope that her husband or partner will always remember to help her see the world.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Mother's Day Vintage Style
Thinking of Mother's Day makes me wonder about how widely this occasion is celebrated today compared, to say, 50 years ago. This line of thought was brought on by an interview I heard on the radio while commuting recently. The interview was about the downfall of religion in America starting during the Industrial Revolution and continuing with the urbanization of our country and the dissolution of the extended family. I'm guessing the occasions like Mother Day are in a similar decline for similar reasons.
I grew up in a small town and attended Sunday School and Church at the United Methodist Church every Sunday morning with my mother and sister.
On Mother's Day my mother always wore a white flower to church picked from our own flower garden. My sister and I wore red or pink which ever we had blooming at the time. My mother wore a white flower because it was a symbol that her Mother was no longing living but red was the symbol of a mother's presence. My mother always took this opportunity to talk about her own mother and she was "the sweetest woman in the world."
My Dad only went to church a couple of times a year and Mother's Day was one of them. At the church service there were real corsages for the youngest mother in the congregation, the oldest, and the one with the most children/grandchildren present. I knew my mother was never going to win any of those and I felt kind of bad for her in my own childlike way.
I can't remember ever buying her a gift as a child but my sister would help me make a card.
When we got home my Dad would do all the cooking which was his usual Sunday routine anyway. He had been a cook in his younger days so he liked cooking breakfast everyday and dinner on Sunday. He didn't mind washing dishes either.
My mother was an immaculate housekeeper, a good cook, a good listener, a good advisor, and sent three daughters to college on money she managed to save from my father's salary working for the BRI railroad.
She was quick to get a peach switch but always forgiving. I had a sharp tongue, a mind of my own, and a habit of slamming my bedroom door.
She was the only room mother for my junior high years. I remember that she came to my defense only once with a teacher. The teacher was my home economics teacher in junior high and this teacher was always commenting negatively on the the way I dressed.........not exactly an endearing quality for a teacher of a thirteen year old who had to wear the hand-me-downs of a sister seven years older. She accused me of telling her I didn't like her. Now that wasn't exactly true because she asked me. She said, "You don't like me do you?" And my answer was........you guessed it. So my mother told her, "Maybe it's better not to ask the question if you already know the answer!" I don't remember what grade I made in that class but I do remember that conversation.
In her final years my mother lived a few months in Houston with my family and then a few months in San Antonio with another daughter and her family. She never put herself first or tried to impose. She loved being able to be in the arms of those who loved her. She insisted on doing laundry and puttering around and always washing dishes. Upon her death, my 14 year-old reminisced by saying, "Who is going to be around to say, 'What can I do to help?'". So we had that placed upon her tombstone.
Families may have changed, religion may have changed, celebrations may also have changed. Being a mother can never change.
I grew up in a small town and attended Sunday School and Church at the United Methodist Church every Sunday morning with my mother and sister.
On Mother's Day my mother always wore a white flower to church picked from our own flower garden. My sister and I wore red or pink which ever we had blooming at the time. My mother wore a white flower because it was a symbol that her Mother was no longing living but red was the symbol of a mother's presence. My mother always took this opportunity to talk about her own mother and she was "the sweetest woman in the world."
My Dad only went to church a couple of times a year and Mother's Day was one of them. At the church service there were real corsages for the youngest mother in the congregation, the oldest, and the one with the most children/grandchildren present. I knew my mother was never going to win any of those and I felt kind of bad for her in my own childlike way.
I can't remember ever buying her a gift as a child but my sister would help me make a card.
When we got home my Dad would do all the cooking which was his usual Sunday routine anyway. He had been a cook in his younger days so he liked cooking breakfast everyday and dinner on Sunday. He didn't mind washing dishes either.
My mother was an immaculate housekeeper, a good cook, a good listener, a good advisor, and sent three daughters to college on money she managed to save from my father's salary working for the BRI railroad.
She was quick to get a peach switch but always forgiving. I had a sharp tongue, a mind of my own, and a habit of slamming my bedroom door.
She was the only room mother for my junior high years. I remember that she came to my defense only once with a teacher. The teacher was my home economics teacher in junior high and this teacher was always commenting negatively on the the way I dressed.........not exactly an endearing quality for a teacher of a thirteen year old who had to wear the hand-me-downs of a sister seven years older. She accused me of telling her I didn't like her. Now that wasn't exactly true because she asked me. She said, "You don't like me do you?" And my answer was........you guessed it. So my mother told her, "Maybe it's better not to ask the question if you already know the answer!" I don't remember what grade I made in that class but I do remember that conversation.
In her final years my mother lived a few months in Houston with my family and then a few months in San Antonio with another daughter and her family. She never put herself first or tried to impose. She loved being able to be in the arms of those who loved her. She insisted on doing laundry and puttering around and always washing dishes. Upon her death, my 14 year-old reminisced by saying, "Who is going to be around to say, 'What can I do to help?'". So we had that placed upon her tombstone.
Families may have changed, religion may have changed, celebrations may also have changed. Being a mother can never change.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Mary, the Queen of Bling
One of the first dealers that I met at the Antique Gallery of Houston was Mary Crisp. It is easy to find Mary because her booth just reaches out and grabs you. Mary specializes in formal furniture and reproductions and she displays them with the flair of a professional decorator. Every painting, mirror, and flower arrangement adds to the beauty of the furniture that she sells. Next to her furniture booth is the bling booth, as I like to call it. Here is where Queen Mary of Bling reigns. There are a few pieces of formal wear found here but what makes her the Queen......... is her love of jewelry and other accessories. This is where a woman can find that special piece of jewelry to compliment a prom or wedding dress. She carries everything from hat pins to ankle bracelets and she does it with that extra dose of sophistication.
Mary's story is the perfect example of a life spent working in retail. She began as a teenager and has continued well into her senior years. Mary's story is about working for the love of serving her customers. She told me over and over that she loves what she does because of the people she meets. Talking to Mary makes me think of that statement about how if you love what you do for a living then it is never work.
Mary's first place of employment (at age 16) was Grayson's Ladies Boutique in San Antonio, Texas. After high school she began a job in gift wrap at Joske's in San Antonio which in those days was considered an upscale clothing store. If you ever need a bow made then Mary is the person to see. Gift wrap is like starting a job in the mail room so Mary had to prove herself and work her way up the retail ladder. Her husband's employment took her to many other places in the United States but Mary always had a job in either retail or banking. To mention a few of those, Mary lived and worked in New York, Boston, Minnesota, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. Upon her return to Houston she found employment with Elsie's Consignment House where she began selling furniture. In 1999 she moved to what was then known as Antiqueland, later to be called The Antique Gallery of Houston.
Mary is an elegant lady. She prides herself on serving her customers. She is always eager to help other dealers give their booths a little of her special sparkle.
Susan Golden may be the manager of The Antique Gallery but Mary is undeniably the Queen.
Mary's story is the perfect example of a life spent working in retail. She began as a teenager and has continued well into her senior years. Mary's story is about working for the love of serving her customers. She told me over and over that she loves what she does because of the people she meets. Talking to Mary makes me think of that statement about how if you love what you do for a living then it is never work.
Mary's first place of employment (at age 16) was Grayson's Ladies Boutique in San Antonio, Texas. After high school she began a job in gift wrap at Joske's in San Antonio which in those days was considered an upscale clothing store. If you ever need a bow made then Mary is the person to see. Gift wrap is like starting a job in the mail room so Mary had to prove herself and work her way up the retail ladder. Her husband's employment took her to many other places in the United States but Mary always had a job in either retail or banking. To mention a few of those, Mary lived and worked in New York, Boston, Minnesota, and Fort Smith, Arkansas. Upon her return to Houston she found employment with Elsie's Consignment House where she began selling furniture. In 1999 she moved to what was then known as Antiqueland, later to be called The Antique Gallery of Houston.
Mary is an elegant lady. She prides herself on serving her customers. She is always eager to help other dealers give their booths a little of her special sparkle.
Susan Golden may be the manager of The Antique Gallery but Mary is undeniably the Queen.
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