Rocking Chair Memories
Did you ever just have an ordinary thing that brought back so many memories? That’s how it is with an old chair my mom had. Every time I go upstairs, it brings back “rocking chair memories”. It’s nothing special, not worth anything monetarily but to me it’s worth so much with all the memories of mom.
Mom’s health was failing and she would sit on the porch in her rocking chair and wait for hubby and I to come home from work. After dinner, we held her hand and walked around the block, visiting with the neighbors and then back to her rocking chair to rest. After we had to move mom into a nursing home, I brought the chair to our new home. At the time we had a few young grandchildren and I would sit and rock them, thinking of how my mom would rock her grandchild years back. When our youngest grandson was born, my daughter asked if she could use the rocking chair so we took it to her house. Fast forward when my daughter and her family moved, she posted things she was getting rid of on a free site and the rocking chair was one of the items she didn’t want. I happened to read the post and called her immediately to let her know I wanted the rocking chair back. It was too late, someone had just come and picked it up. I was so heartbroken that she didn’t let me know she was getting rid of mom’s rocking chair. She had a list of phone numbers of people who had inquired about the items she had posted and I was in luck when one of them was from the woman that came to get the chair. I called her up and asked if she was the one that got the rocking chair and I then told her my story of mom and the rocking chair memories. The woman was so nice and said there was no way she could keep the chair knowing how much it meant to me. Hubby and I got in the truck and drove the 30 miles to where the chair now sat. Of course as soon as I saw the chair, the tears came rolling down my cheeks, happy tears, knowing that mom’s memories would be back where they belong. The one thing we found out when we went to pick up the chair was the woman planned on using it to rock her young son. She didn’t have to but she gave us the chair back and while she didn’t want any thing in return, we gave her some cash to buy a new rocking chair and start making some memories for her family.
It’s not just a chair,
It’s a memory of mom.
She would sit there and wait
Until we came home.
As her memory failed,
She would sit there and rock.
She knew we’d be home soon,
By the time on the clock.
Mom’s rocking chair now sits upstairs in our house and usually has one of the grands stuffed animals or a pillow sitting where mom would sit. It also has a beautiful hand-made quilt that my mom made hanging over the back of the chair.
The quilt is beautiful, mom lovingly hand embroidered horse heads on some of the blocks and then hand tied the blocks together and even signing the edge. Every time I go upstairs, I see the chair with the quilt and it brings back the rocking chair memories that are held close in my heart. The next time the chair will be moved is when it will be passed on to our granddaughter who I would sit and rock just like my mom would do with her granddaughter. Something about memories, all the memories of the past, forever in my heart will last even if it’s just a rocking chair. This is another great memory about a beautiful Christening Gown made by my grandmother and worn by my mom and her siblings back in the early 1900’s.
http://themarthareview.com/sharing-something-from-the-past/
Related
Beautiful memories! I’m so glad that you were able to retrieve something that brings you so much joy. What a blessing 🙂
Thanks Ruthanne, for some reason as I get older, the memories mean so much more to me. I want to save the memories and pass them on to my grandchildren. Some would say it’s just a chair, but to me it’s so much more. Thanks for visiting!
Mine wasn’t a rocking chair. It was a green, cushy chair with a (broken) hammock. The one my grandpa sat in all the time. The one from which he quizzed me in arithmetic and spelling for hours on end. The one from which he told me stories with Teddy Roosevelt, Black Jack Pershing, the circus…
That hammock broke as my grandfather’s illness progressed. But, when he died, that green chair became mine. It lasted until my middle daughter turned 3. By then, the chair had been in my possession for 15 years. Which made it at least 40 years old.
That is such a sweet memory Roy! I love when I read a blog post from someone and it brings back memories, I’m glad this one brought back happy memories to you. I can imagine his story was so very special. Thanks for stopping by.
Years ago, when I was a child, I had a huge set of Little Golden Books. They were old and we had about 50 of them. My mother had started collecting them when my oldest sibling (15 years older tham me) was born. They had done all 3 of my older siblings and myself, when my Mum then passed them on to my Sister-in-law for the oldest two grandchildren. Then my older sister had a child and asked Mum for them for him. That was when we found out that my Sister-in-law had either thrown them out or given them away. Needless to say a lot of us were hurt at the lack of sentiment she had given the things we’d treasured.
Oh no, how sad to see those leave the family! It’s one thing to pass them on to another family member, but the person should at least ask the original owner. How I remember the Little Golden Books! I’m sorry the books are gone, it would have been so wonderful to keep passing them down through generations. Thanks for stopping by Patricia, hold on to the memories.
Beautiful story! I lost my mom in 2015 after Alzheimer’s took her away from us. The memories that are stirred up by seeing something she loved or used, are blessings. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so sorry Sheryl, that’s what I lost my mom to along with a severe stroke. It’s such a cruel illness to watch our loved ones go down hill but we have the wonderful memories to hold on to. “All the memories of the past, forever in our hearts will last”. Hugs and hang on to the memories! <3