Friday, November 03, 2006

Ming would be proud


Preppy Princess asked us recently what we regret. I think this is a fascinating question. A few years ago a friend sent around one of those email questionnaires that you are supposed to fill out and forward on to people - you know those things that have all sorts of personal questions like what's your favorite potato chip and favorite celebrity - and one of the questions was "what's the worst feeling in the world?" Her answer was, REGRET. And the more I thought about it, the more I completely agreed. That pang of regret you feel over things that you have done, like if you've said the wrong thing, or forgotten someone's birthday, or something worse...it can eat you up inside. Just thinking about things like that gives me a little shudder.

And then there's the kind of regret you feel over things that are out of your control. For instance, I regret that neither one of my grandmothers were ever able to come to my house and see where I live. They both lived a great distance from me, and the trip would have been far too much for them, though both had said to me that they would have loved to visit. I regret that it was never a possibility. My first apartment in the city....they would have loved it. My little house now...I can't imagine how exicitng it would have been for both of us if they would have been able to come. I loved them very much, as you can tell, and I think about them often. And I've noticed that they've already appeared in my blog here: talking about my wicker chairs (that's my dad's mom), talking about my antique rocking chair (that came from my mom's side). My older brother was the first grandson on both sides and as a toddler he named them both "Minga". It stuck and that's what all of us called them through the years. Minga. Ming. Kind of far eastern and catchy. I think they loved their name.

Here's something from Ming. My collection of teacups and saucers. This is from my mom's mom. She gave me a new set for Christmas for several years in a row when I was a little girl. Now they are on display on this little shelf that, by a wonderful coincidence, actually belonged to my husband's grandmother. They are high above our living space, but I like having them up there. It's like a little reminder that Ming is here, just a bit, watching over us.

7 comments:

Marissa said...

This is so sweet. It is as if they are always watching over you and your home ;) They would just love it!

Michelle said...

Lovely! My dear grandmother died a year ago yesterday. I feel so blessed that each of my children were able to know her. I miss her.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing - I love wicker and teacups, especially when they have sentimental value like yours.

Deb said...

What a beautiful post! and how fortunate you are to have such special memories. Did you paint the shelf (it looks like a MacKenzie-childs design)?Thanks also for visiting my blog and your kind comments!

bethy said...

i just love your blog...i so know what you mean about longing for the grandmas to visit. the teacups are a treasure. :)

Meg said...

Thanks for the nice comments, everybody. Reading through these makes me happy that I shared my thoughts.

Deb, I did not paint the shelf, and it is not MacKenzie-Childs. It's just a pretty flowered shelf, and I can't resist things like that.

Anonymous said...

What lovely memories you have of your grandmothers. Isn't it wonderful to look around you and see things that they once touched? It keeps those memories alive and makes us feel like they are, in some ways still with us.

Jen