blue willow china

Last May, Todd and I were in New York City and while he was doing his “conference thing,” one of the days I was exploring the DUMBO neighborhood, just across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan. I found a really cool store there called Fishs Eddy, known for its quirky vintage dishware, glassware, and home accessories.

I wandered around the store, and when I reached the back, there it was, a HUGE display of Blue Willow dishes.

Boy, oh boy, did that bring back memories.

My grandma had a set of Blue Willow dishes, and when she died my mom brought them home with her. Mom loved pretty china and collected quite a few sets over the years, most of them purchased at estate sales. When Mom left this earth, she had nine complete sets of fine china. One of those sets was the Blue Willow that had belonged to her mother.

I was the one who had the job of finding new homes for all those beautiful sets of china. My sister took one set, my two sisters-in-law each chose a set, and my two daughters each said they would like one as well. (By the way, those dishes are still in my storage room). No one wanted the Blue Willow. I advertised the dishes, someone inquired about them, and I took them up on their offer. It was sad to let the set go, but I found comfort in knowing that someone would appreciate and use them, and in some small way Mom’s love of beautiful dishes would live on.

Standing there in Fishs Eddy and looking at that huge display of Blue Willow, I realized how much more than dishes they had been. They were pieces of my family’s story - my grandma’s, my mom’s, and mine, and have become part of someone else's story.

I stood there for a bit, smiled at the Blue Willow china display and walked away with a reminder that sometimes the things we inherit aren’t meant to stay with us forever. Sometimes their purpose is simply to connect us to the people we love and bring back precious memories.