Sentiment or Romance?

Though this post is not about quilting, I think alot of quilters can relate, or maybe it's just me and I am kidding myself. I do admit to being a romantic. Not the kind you would think of when you hear the word "romance" (though I do like that too). I am the kind of romantic who dreams about people of the past and those in the future. What was it that got me thinking I may need to bring some realism into my life?? Well, my family and friends have had a round of jewelry parties. I should not complain because I started the whole darn thing! Well after 5 of them and 1 more to go, you can only buy so much jewelry. I am not a big jewelry wearer, but I do wear earrings and my wedding rings. So...I had run out of jewelry in my budget that I could buy. A friend suggested I buy a toe ring. For some reason I did. I can't seem to get use to it and am
considering saving it for Charlotte. Can you picture the scenes in 50 years? "This was your great grandmothers toe ring." or better yet, "This was your great grandmothers belly button ring". (No I don't have one) I can not seem to buy a piece of jewelry or anything else of heirloom quality for that matter without wondering where it will end up in the years after I am gone. (A $30 toe ring does not represent heirloom quality, but the $150 necklaces I bought do, even if I got them 50% off) This could all be because I have some things that are precious to me. I have become very sentimental in the past years. My older boys are not so much like this, but my younger 2 are very resistant to let anything go that has a tad of sentimental value to them. Charlotte wanted to save all the tags from any clothing she got. She had a drawer full of tags. I recently got her to let go of these. Though I am sentimental, I am not a pack rat and I don't want to raise one! The organized, Titus 2, Proverbs 31 Woman that I like to visualize living in my body won't allow it ;)

She has also been saving cards. This is ok with me. I went in her room to take a photo of her card collection and looked in her "tag drawer"...look what I found. She is at it again!

I left it alone :)

Here is her card collection. Zach also saves his cards, though he is not as nice with them. Charlotte keeps hers in a special gift bag. I think we can call this one sentiment. Ok, back to me. Let's see if I can classify myself the same way. Here are some things that are of value to me...

You could buy this for 50 cents at a yard sale, but you would feel ripped off. This little ceramic plaque was in my mothers kitchen through out my entire childhood. It is dated 1957, before I was born. I put it in my own kitchen before I married in 1979. It has been in my kitchen everyday of my life. It is one of my most cherished things. I would classify this as sentiment.

This is the buffet that my father hid in when he was 3 years old. I would classify this as sentiment.

Here is one wall of the sitting room. The room is covered in old family pictures. I find myself looking at these people and wondering about there lives and would Sweet Hubby and I grace the walls of our great-great-grandchildrens sitting room. A little bit of sentiment mixed with a whole lotta romance.

This is my (never before owned) dining room set. I think about holidays that TJ may have with his own grandchildren at this very table. DEFINITELY romance.

I won't post another pic of my Grandma's hutch that is in my sewing room as I have already shown that twice. By that alone you know my heart has a special place for it, along with my Grandma's family Bible. I need to pull that out, as my Grandmother's great niece committed suicide this week. She was very good about recording deaths and births in that Bible. I had not seen this girl (35 yrs old) since she was a child, but I know my Grandmother would have wanted me to record her information.

So, I guess I am a sentimental romantic. The real word I want to leave my descendants is Legacy. It is a word I love. I have "stuff" like furniture, pictures, costume jewelry, even quilts. The Legacy I want to leave is not the Masterpiece Quilt (though I still dream of a distant grandchild treasuring it) or a dining room set. It is a Legacy of love. You have all been waiting to see the Masterpiece block and I promise it is "coming soon", but the true masterpiece in my life I showed you yesterday. One of my legacies: My Masterpiece.