#SOL17 28/31 I'm writing for the March Slice of Life challenge with the Two Writing Teachers community for Day Twenty-Eight of Thirty-One. Thank you, Stacey, Beth, Deb, Betsy, Lanny, Kathleen, Lisa, and Melanie.
I read all kinds of essays/columns, poems, too that are like slices, an author's musings about small things. Somewhere in my mind as I was pondering Sunday’s post about the word “slice”, I remembered a mention of "house ghosts." I don't mean those old houses and sometimes hotels that have claims to hauntings, but the definition of ghosts that haunt one’s memories.
Years ago, my husband and I were browsing a furniture store looking for a new chair for our family room. We discovered this small sofa in the bargain room, a bit larger than a chair, but the color and the price was good. Plus, it was so soft and felt very comfortable. We actually managed to fit it into the back of our jeep and took it home. I never thought it would hold so many memories. Of course, there are other ghosts hovering, the one that holds a special brown coffee cup and that one that lies beside me under a blue comforter. There are the babies that slept with a blue and white checked blanket, and the mother who stitched a star quilt in the guest bedroom. Yes, they’re all here, keeping me good company, just like the brown sofa.
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| Arvie with Ingrid, reading favorites! |
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| George, a favorite grand-dog, loved the sofa. He left us last year, still on the sofa in my mind's eye. |
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| Younger Carter claimed the sofa, still does. But he doesn't fit quite so easily anymore. |
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| Will be house ghosts in a few years. |
Hoping you have a few house ghosts around that make you smile!
This made me smile Linda. Thank you for sharing these photos through time.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Carrie. It was fun to write.
DeleteOh Linda, I so enjoyed seeing the photos! Special memories on that sofa.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed! Thanks, Loralee!
DeleteSo sweet, Linda. You have some wonderful memories tied up in that sofa. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Molly. It was a surprising find that everyone loves.
DeleteOh I love this!! Thank you for sharing those beautiful pictures of your family! My mom and my aunt have those pieces from my grandmother. Pieces of furniture that bring me back 30 years in the blink of an eye. Thank you for the reminder and for the name!
ReplyDeleteYes, there are other pieces that I have from past family, too, Michelle, and they are special memories of where they sat in their first homes!
DeleteI love the idea of house ghosts... I have to think more about that. I was torn between tears and smiles throughout you post -- maybe that is what a house ghost does... bittersweet. Thank you
ReplyDeleteClare
I think so, Clare, but it's nice to remember, too. Thank you!
DeleteSuch special ghosts to reside in your home. They fill it will lots of love and memories. Thanks for sharing your house ghosts.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Judy. I imagine you have a few, too.
DeleteLove all the pics of your house ghosts, but especially the one of Arvie & Ingrid. And so glad those two girls sitting on the couch reading I'm A Girl are not house ghosts yet, but a constant source of joy. So glad they live nearby and we get to watch them grow up.
ReplyDeleteThank you! The girls spent afternoon into the evening with me yesterday. They are on break, and went to a creation workshop, made wooden houses and painted them. I helped them add to the "inside", much fun. And they loved "I'm A Girl", probably need to purchase it! Yes, they're growing up!
DeleteWhat a lovely way to share memories. These ghosts don't haunt, they are a welcome addition.
ReplyDeleteYes, very much so. Thank you!
DeleteLove the idea of house ghosts! I believe I have had this sensation when I use certain plates (from my dear grandmother, used them throughout the years), pulled up a special quilt (from my mother-in-law)...love how something inanimate can be filled with spirit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing yours, Maureen. Lovely to hear about those plates and the quilt.
DeleteWhat a fun term for memories tied to items! Wish I could create a few of those house ghosts with my grand girls.
ReplyDeleteWhen they get older, they'll fly in to visit, Elsie. My kids did from five on. I know you love when you visit.
DeleteAh, how lovely. Household items can be so evocative.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I hope you have some good ones, too.
DeleteWhen my father-in-law died, my mother-in-law could not look at the blue sofa where he sat his last years. The reminder was too hard, so she gave it to the sisters. It's made its way through my daughters. This weekend she asked about it. My youngest told her it was in her apartment, but that would be its last home. These pieces carry memories. My daughters have loved "Papa's sofa." One of these days, the memory will have to be enough.
ReplyDeleteYes, the sofas don't last, but the memories do. Thanks for telling me about this, Margaret. It's a poignant story. From what you said, though, I imagine she loves that your daughters love the sofa. Thanks!
DeleteI loved this walk through memories journey with you, Linda - the pictures say so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tara. It was fun to focus on the sofa!
DeleteThis made me smile, laugh and cry at the same time. I have a table like that. I moved it with me even though it is too big and bulky....but it has too memories around it to let it go.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anita. My brother has that kind of table. It's been in the family for many years.
DeleteI always love hearing about your memories, Linda. So many sweet pictures, too. It's not exactly the same, but I sometimes feel that I can still be in rooms of the house I grew up in and my grandmother's house. Certainly, they are still in me.
ReplyDeleteI certainly remember them, so I kind of know what you mean. Smells bring some things back, and tastes. Thanks for sharing, Catherine.
DeleteHouse ghosts! How delightful. Thank you for sharing your house ghosts with us in words and pictures. I have a few pieces that are memory holders; I will probably never get rid of them.
ReplyDeleteI know, there are those things that are special to us that often have no meaning or value, just that you know where and when the object took its place in your heart. Thanks, Alice.
DeleteOh Linda......your house ghosts are so full of love. Beautiful. I love seeing Arvie with Ingrid reading, then Ingrid carrying on the tradition with Imogene. Carter, your grand-dog. Imagining the star quilt made with love. All slices of Heaven for you. Janet Clare F.
ReplyDeleteDear Janet, how fun that you discovered this old post! I still have that sofa & it is still coveted by many! Have a wonderful week ahead with your own 'house ghosts'!
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