Wednesday, July 15, 2009

New Old Bed

We moved a lot when I was a kid. Started out in Illinois, then to an RV in Louisiana, a condo and several apartments in Virginia, a house in Maryland, up until I went out on my own.

Living in a RV meant there was no need for furniture, so most of our furnishings were sold or given to my Grandmother to hold for us. 25 years ago, when we gave up the RV and moved to Virginia, my uncle sold us some of his furniture and we picked up pieces here and there. My mom liked to hunt for treasure in the trash and in the dumpsters, and living in apartments was a treasure trove of stuff. Mom found this old bed for me from one of her jaunts. It was painted this awful pale green color but I lived with it, then I moved out and went my own way and Mom kept the bed for herself after my parents separated. She painted it white and it looked so much better than that green that was on there.

Now that Mom's home is officially sold and her things are here, she has given the bed back to me to give to one of my girls. After much thought, I gave the bed to Middle. It seems to fit her the best, though there was much protest from her sisters.

The bed looks great in their room, the white pops against the pink walls and it truly seems like a princess bed as the girls like to call it. It could use a fresh coat of paint, but for now, it's perfect the way it is.


I remember when I slept on it, I would poke the paint out of the tiny holes in the headboard with a toothpick. I never finished and then after Mom painted it white, some of the holes are blocked up again. I told Middle she could finish what I started and she seemed like she would, but only time will tell.

Middle is happy to sleep in her "new" bed and I am happy to see it passed on. To whomever threw it away: You don't know what kind of happiness you tossed, but I'm glad to have it now!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

There is so much more to a piece like this. History. We love old things here, especially furniture.

jenny said...

Hey Kelli-- yes, we love old things, too! It just amazes me at what people throw away. We have a nice old cupboard from the 1800s that we picked up from the landfill, I often wonder about the person that first owned it and what they kept in it.

Stephanie D said...

Everyone seems to want new stuff, and not take the time to fix up the old. Although now, with the economy as it is, there may be less trash to treasure up.

At any rate, it's a lovely old bed and I hope Middle enjoys it as much as you did!

DJ Kirkby said...

What a great story. I like that bed a lot.