Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Story Telling Sunday - My Precious 9

I used to collect Boyds Bears figurines. Until we decided to build a sun room, move our dining area into the sun room, and get rid of all of the dining room furniture we had at the time, including the big unit that housed my collection. As I was boxing them all up, it occurred to me that when the remodel was done I no longer wanted to display my Boyds Bears. In fact, I realized that I didn't really have any interest in owning them at all. The collection was more of an easy out for people who didn't know what else to gift me with to buy something than it was particularly meaningful to me.  So I boxed them all up and sent them off to Good Will for someone else to enjoy.  

Well, not quite ALL of them. I kept three.  Two are Christmas themed ones.  At least one of them belonged to my Mom and was given to me after she died. My memory is less certain on the second one. And the third one I kept? Was this one:

This one is finally being pulled out of storage and will be displayed in our recently remodeled basement. But why did this one survive the purge when so many others didn't? Why does this particular one tug at my heartstrings? Thanks for asking.  This figurine is very special to me because it reminds me of this:

Of a time when my husband still had a full head of dark hair. Of a time when my first born child wasn't off living in another state practicing at being a real adult. Of a time when my babies were really babies, not college students.  Of a time when my own journey into motherhood was still in its early phases, full of possibility and unknowns, at the outset of the life-long process of getting to know these little miracles that Jay and I had brought into this world.

That little red wagon played a prominent part of their outdoor lives for several years. When Rachel and Becca were a little older and more capable of keeping themselves upright, Sarah used to pull them up and down the sidewalk in it. This photo is a scan of the original which I cropped to get in closer to Jay and the girls and sharpened to improve the details. The original also has a digital date on it - April 24, 1994. So Sarah is not quite four in this photo and Rachel and Becca were only seven months old!  I've printed this out in 4x6 and plan to display it framed next to the figurine. 

For more Precious Stories visit Sian's Story Telling Sunday.

13 comments:

Jo said...

I can see why you kept that one, it's beautiful and will look lovely displayed with the photo x

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Oh that is so cool, Cheri. I love the comparison of the bears with your sweet family in the photo.

My mother-in-law collected bears - she put me WAY to shame on my turtle stash. In her collection were (are) a whole bunch of Boyd's Bears, so your post has reminded me of Doug's mom this afternoon. ♥

Karen said...

This is great, Cheri. Love the Boyd Bears and the photograph is terrific. Displaying them together is such a good idea.

Sian said...

Oh, Cheri, this really strikes a chord with me! We have friends with a boy and a girl the same age as ours and when they were little we used to go away on camping weekends with them. The dads always talk fondly about taking the two little boys out on their tricycles and pushing them along using umbrellas. Well, when the exam results came out a couple of weeks ago, Richard phoned to tell us how his boy had got on and of course he talked about how they had grown and how we had no more tricycles. So I have a picture in my head which brings back memories like yours.

Maria Ontiveros said...

What a wonderful story today. I feel a little bit this way about my Belleek collection. I also have some of my mom's collection of lladros, which I actually AM interested in displaying. I might trade those out soon.
Rinda

Missus Wookie said...

Oh Cheri - that is lovely, I'm not surprised you kept that. Interesting to me - I've realised many of my dragons can go when we move, just don't want to hang on to them. Was feeling 'what a waste' but you are right - most of them were from other people as easy presents :)

simply bev said...

Great post! Boyd Bears are pretty adorable and I can see why you kept that one!

Melissa said...

What a wonderful treasure & a great reminder of the time depicted in that precious photo! TFS

Miriam said...

Hello Cheri, Catching up with you today. I love the story of your precious, how wonderful to have that photo to go with it. They will look wonderful together. I too have had collections of things over the years that I now longer want/need. I read somewhere that collections of things were a substitute for something emotional missing from your life, I don't know it I agree but there definitely comes a time when you are ready to let go. Your Simple moment made me smile, the katybugs sound like someone sharpening a knife! Roll on winter for a more peaceful night for you.

Becky said...

I just love this - the photo and the ornament. I am not surprised you kept this ornament :)

Barbara Eads said...

First off, I have to say---I'll bet Good Will loves you!!! You gave them something of real value. I'll bet they don't get many collections. Second, I LOVE your story and how you kept that figurine for what it represented to you. I think your three girls (I also have three) may one day "fight" over it---especially if you display it with the photo and maybe the story on the back! Loved this post!

Alison said...

I can totally see why you kept that particular one...the photograph really DOES capture a moment in time!
Alison xx

alexa said...

Lovely to see the photo and you have done a great job of retouching it. - isn't it funny how sometimes we have to delve a bit to find out what is meaningful to us and why ...