When I was a little girl, I used to admire a gorgeous treasure when we would visit my dear grandmother, who I always called Nana.
In her kitchen, she had a lovely hutch that stood so grand in the corner of the room. It was not a large hutch, for her kitchen was small and cozy, but it was grand in the eyes of myself, the child who loved pretty things even then.
Through the glass doors I always admired her pretty gold tea pot, sugar and creamer and 6 demi cups and saucers. I thought it was magnificent. Nana told me it was from Italy and a gift brought back to her from a dear friend when visiting her home town of Naples. I knew it was very special to her in just the way she spoke of the treasure.
Nana only used the set for special occasions when company would visit. I remember a time when she had a gathering of her special friends and my mother and I were included. The ladies enjoyed an espresso coffee from the demi cups and of course I was given juice. oh well too young~~~ but I thought I was so important to sit with the ladies while they talked in a mix of Italian and English.
As the years went forth, the treasured set remained secure and beautiful behind the glass doors of the small grand hutch that stood so proud in Nana's kitchen. As I grew older, I continued to admire the set and the special spot in Nana's heart that it would fill. The treasure that came from her home town of Naples, Italy. The town she would never visit again while on this earth. I used to feel sad about that, thinking that my dearest grandmother would never go home again to visit. Back then, it was a world away, expensive to travel and a very long trip by ship. When talking about this to her, she told me, that although she missed her homeland, her home was where her family was now and that was all that was important. That God had blessed her coming to America, and for this, she would always be grateful.
In August my dear best guy and I will celebrate thirtyeight years of marriage. My how the years have flown by. Remembering back to that special time just before the wedding, I visited my Nana often to talk and share my dreams of our wedding and plans of a world to come.
On one visit before the wedding, I walked over to the hutch like I had always done my whole life up to that point and I quickly noticed the treasured gold set with the darling demi cups were missing. "Nana", I said, "Where is the set from Italy?" She motioned for me to follow her into the living room.
As we sat on the pretty light green brocade sofa, she handed me a wrapped box to open. I looked at her puzzled, but proceeded to open the package to find the gorgeous treasured set from Italy inside.
As I began to cry and tell her, no Nana, this is yours and I could never take it. She held my hand and whispered it is for you and will be in your care from this point on. I was so excited, promising I would always take good care of it and cherish it forever. She said, she knew, I would take good care of the set because she watched over the years how I had always admired the delicate beauty of gold.
Yes, I had admired the beautiful set and never imagined it would someday be mine to cherish. I never would have imagined the many years of looking through the hutch with admiration, that I was gazing at a wedding gift. Nana gave me a part of her heart that day and it was in her plan to do so.
Today with my anniversary upcoming, and today, being Tea Time Tuesday, I share this story with you. We calculate the set to be nearly 80 years old. It means as much to me today as it did when I first admired the delicate treasure as a little girl. And today 107 years ago, my grandmother was born, Celestina Marie, July 19th 1904.
Happy Birthday Nana, I love you and miss you everyday!
Thank you for stopping by, sharing my tea time story and letting me invite you to shop Christmas in July at my etsy shoppe here with early treasures with Free Shipping.Blessings for a wonderful summer's day and wishing you the joys of remembering times in your life that are cherished and loved.
With Love, Celestina Marie
Please visit our gracious hostess Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for more tea time participants.
