Where she is, everything will always be beautiful.
Written by OMSHt: Inspiring, OMSH, photos 15 Comments
Kenny and I spent a large portion of yesterday with my Mother. It made for an enjoyable, relaxing day. We got up, showered, dressed and leisurely headed to over to see Izzy on the square at Bluebonnet Antiques. My Mother, along with the others who lease space in this building, “keeps” the store twice a month. The kids usually like visiting Bluebonnet-there is always plenty to see, but mostly because it sits next door to King’s Candy, an old soda fountain and candy store that has been around this town since my Dad was a boy.
I enjoy visiting my Mother when I can at Bluebonnet; it is a cozy place to be. Like most antique stores, it is overflowing with the past, present, and even the future…some new person’s collections waiting to be found. These old buildings are very much alive with their peeling walls, slightly musty scent, groaning wooden floors and general disarray. Today Kenny and I climbed the creaky old stairs up to the second floor to see what new things my Mother had circulated into her area.
My mother has always had an eye for arranging things beautifully. Unlike many other vendors, she caresses her area into a living space. Things are added, not stacked. Items are placed, not lined-up. There is organization, but in a way that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into your grandmother’s home, not just drove up to a garage sale.
As I peruse, things re-introduce themselves to me – things I remember from my time with Mother and Daddy. There are things in Mother’s booth that have been around as long as I can remember – like the hutch that she uses as a backdrop to dishes, kitchen items and other what-nots.
Or the quilted bears that I remember perched atop a bookshelf in her work room with other stuffed animals – new and old.
Sometimes there are things that came after I left home. These things I vaguely remember, but I know they are hers – that they were carefully selected at some point. I know her and therefore I know they must have fit in perfectly somewhere, in one of her homes, decorating her daily life.
Pictures hang on the wall, furniture beckons a memory, mirrors echo a different reflection and lamps wait to shed a new light. All of it arranged in a way that attracts the eye, soothes the soul and reminds me that things are as fleeting as time – and the only things that truly matter are the people all the things stood as a backdrop to through the years.
Relationships are what makes things significant; without my Mother and my Daddy, none of these things would matter.
It is her talent to be able to create beauty around her – in her home and even, at times, in her workplace. It is a gift that the warmth remains, even as the “things” pass into different hands, are taken to be enjoyed by a new family, because the root of all that expressed beauty has not been lost.
Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder.
It is in her eyes, her heart, her mind and her soul.
Where she is, everything will always be beautiful.
As is she.
January 30th, 2008 at 1:19 am
I think she passed the gift on to you! You do that with your site and your photo’s.
Can you ask Izzy if I can buy one of those bears? Paypal? Pleeeassse!
MK
January 30th, 2008 at 1:34 am
I called her and sent her your way. 🙂
January 30th, 2008 at 2:24 am
What a beautiful store…and a beautiful post.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Somebody beat me to it but I was just going to say that about you. You find the beauty where ever you go in your photographs!
January 30th, 2008 at 11:36 am
How is it that I’m only the 3rd person to comment, but everything I wanted to say was already taken.
So I’ll repeat it anyway, beautiful post as usual, and beautiful store:) Makes me want to spend an afternoon browsing.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Beautiful. Looks like a pretty neat store. And a great post.
January 30th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I want to take a cup of cocoa and a good book and curl up and read in that room. (It is a good thing. Trust me.)
January 30th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
The patchwork bears: they could shape an entire childhood.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
OhMyGosh…are you talking about ME? Such a sweet post! However, I have to agree with the others – with your talent you can find beauty in any scene. Heck…my store space could look like crud and you’d find just the right angle to make something appear gorgeous.
You’re a sweetheart…I love you and am very proud to claim you!
January 30th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
I agree i think she passed the sense of beauty, and talent onto you… you can hear it in your voice, see it in your smile, imagine it in your photos, you are your mothers daughter! I love her little cozy nook!
January 31st, 2008 at 12:40 am
And you can see your mother’s talent in the way you arrange the elements of your web site. There’s always something to explore, but it feels homey.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:57 am
Thanks everyone.
I love you too Mother – so much more than words can say.
February 4th, 2008 at 5:42 am
You two are so lucky to have this relationship and I can tell that you appreciate it. Brought tears to my eyes.
February 12th, 2008 at 1:24 am
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