So, you’ll have to forgive me another non-monkey related post, but today, this is what’s on my mind.
At The Frugal Village, there is currently a conversation going on in one of the forums, surrounding whether or not people have “good dishes,” and if so, do they use it?
So, I responded, early in the thread that yes, we have good dishes.
When Real Man and I got engaged, we toyed with not registering for china and crystal. We didn’t feel like china/crystal people, and so we weren’t going to register for those items.
My mother immediately went into palpitations and said that we HAD to register for fine china and crystal. It was what people do. It certainly was what people did when she was getting married…that much I cannot argue. However, I really didn’t want to do it. Never one to do what others do just because others are doing it, I really, really didn’t want to do it.
My mom won.
So, Real Man and I registered for, and then received a ridiculous amount of place settings in Lenox china, Waterford crystal, and Sterling silver.
We bought a beautiful china cabinet, and there they sit.
Day in and day out, for the past eleven years.
An interesting thing happened, though, as I started reading the responses of others in the good china thread.
Many people didn’t have the good stuff.
Those that did?
They use it. Every day.
Someone said, “Why save it for a special occasion? Every day I spend with my family is special!”
Someone else said, “I have great memories of that china as a child…I want my kids to have the same memories.”
Another poster wrote, “Yep. We have it and we use it. Sure, we’ve chipped a few, and broken more, but you know what? It’s just a dish.”
So…
***Mom…at this point, if you read this, I beg you to turn off the computer and walk away. The rest of this post is not going to sit well with you***
…I started thinking…”Yeah! They’re right! We should use those dishes!”
If I don’t use them, they’ll sit in that china cabinet, and then I’ll die and the monkeys will fight over who doesn’t have to take them, and in the end, they’ll sell them at some fine china consignment shop.
Or…
…we start using them…often. Build some memories on the good plates, and then let the monkeys build their own when I’m gone.
Because, let’s face it…the good china is supposed to be used for the good times with special people.
Around here…
…that’s every day.
