Category Archives: Things

Grandpa’s Chair

Family, Memories, Things, ,

My grandparents had a child’s rocking chair when they lived in Elgin. Generations of children sat on it and I really wanted to own it someday for my own children. It went to my Aunt Ginny, the only of my mom’s siblings who didn’t have children. I think I did ask her for it when Clare was born, but she wasn’t ready to let it go. After she died it sat in storage until last April when Dean and I picked it up in Mississippi. So while I have no photos of my kids in the chair, I do have some of my granddaughter in it.

I don’t think there are any photos of my grandfather in the chair, but here he is as a child in the arms of his mother, Jessie, and standing next to her mother, Nettie McCornack.

My aunt Ginny was photographed sitting in the chair, however, in this photo taken on the porch of 501 Raymond in Elgin. L-R: Uncle Dick, Aunt Nancy, Grandpa Green, Grandma Green, Mom, Uncle Bud, and Aunt Ginny in the rocking chair.

We celebrated Mother’s Day in Bethesda shortly after returning from Mississippi and had Lassen try out the chair. She wasn’t impressed.

A few months later she liked it better.

I love this chair and its history. Hopefully it will be used by more generations.

Irish Girl and Little Jack Horner

Family, Things,

When my kids were young, probably in elementary school, my mother gave them each a china doll. Andrew was given Little Jack Horner, complete with pie and stool (although those are missing). Clare received an Irish girl that sported red hair and a tartan skirt. They were supposed to be kept until they didn’t want them anymore, then, because they were destined to be collectors’ items, sold for a small fortune. Sounds familiar, right?

Well, these Ashton Drake dolls are maybe worth up to $50 right now and that is probably not going to change for the better. Neither Clare nor Andrew want their dolls, not even to try to sell. I don’t have a strong attachment to Little Jack Horner, although he resembles Andrew as a boy a bit with the blond, blond hair. I do like the Irish girl doll and will probably keep her for a while.

I don’t think that hat is actually his
She may have come with a hat

In the struggle there is joy

Life, Things

At Andrew and Alex’s engagement party a few years ago they handed out small pieces of paper that had sayings on them — sort of like fortune cookie fortunes. We chose one without seeing the words. Mine was perfect and I suspect that it was written with me in mind. Alex seemed very happy that I received it.

It says:

“I know it’s nagging you, but you should finish that project you started. In the struggle there is joy.”

If you know me it won’t come as a surprise that the project mentioned in the fortune is still a work in progress — I’m still struggling to sort through all the bits and pieces of my mom’s life that I brought back to Bethesda.

I’m getting there — I mostly only have photos left, but there are a few other things I need to decide what to do with.

I’m not sure the struggle is joyful, but when I finish small parts of the project I do feel a bit of joy.

And while this small piece of paper is not part of my mom’s things, it is adjacent to it and I’ve been meaning to blog about it for three-and-a-half years.