What Goes Around, Comes Around

Not long ago my husband, George, and I were in downtown Tucson for the annual Folk Music Festival. As we were leaving one venue and heading to another I noticed a storefront in Old Town Artisans that read, "Vintage Treasures and Folk Art." Anything that says Folk Art will always grab my attention! I was going to check out the shop but convinced myself to bypass it. However, by the time I was at the corner I decided to turn around and go back. I assured George that I would meet up with him in 20 minutes; I was only going to take a "quick look"!!

When I entered the shop my eyes were drawn every which way because the shop was full of stuff, good VINTAGE stuff! I methodically started to browse the perimeter, and after a minute or two my eyes landed on a wooden shadow box about 7" X 15".  Then I did a double take as it sunk in that the shadow box was "one of ours"! It was a box that George and I had made in the first few months of our marriage 42 years before! I was dumbstruck at first, and then I got such a feeling of excitement to find a piece of our past, our beginning. The box was in great condition and had been well cared for.
 
Well, of course I HAD to buy it and  became almost giddy when I took that box up to the counter to pay for it. The shop owner asked what treasure I had found, and I responded that she wouldn't believe that my husband and I had made that box 42 years earlier. Luckily I had signed the back of it in 1974 with our names and the date. Well, it turned out that SHE was the owner of the box and had it all through the years. After downsizing she realized she would have to part with some of her treasures, but she assured me that she had always enjoyed it. I could tell because everything was intact and nothing inside was dusty. It was as good as the day she bought it.   

When George and I married in 1974 wooden shadow boxes were somewhat popular. I convinced George that if he built the boxes and I filled them we could make some extra money. I liked to search for Mexican miniatures, little porcelain animals, or Native american miniatures to fill each compartment where I would set a little vignette. Each box had a theme. Selling them was our challenge with our school and work schedules. We probably made a couple dozen before we moved on. 

When I left that vintage shop I was so excited to show it to George. It took me back to our new marriage, a joint effort to create something together, and the excitement of the possibilities that were before us. I brought that box home and hung it up and soon as I could. So how do I describe my feelings of finding that box? It's not like finding an old friend but of finding a piece of ourselves that we had pretty much forgotten about. It was a happy reunion!  
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I hope when you are clearing out, decluttering, or downsizing that you will enjoy finding those VINTAGE treasures and pieces of your past. Even if you have to pass them on, just know they will bring enjoyment to someone else and remember that WE are all treasured by someone else as well.

Let us all become Vintage gracefully and gratefully.  

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