Something Old is New Again

About 15 or 20 years ago I saw this little child's chair at an auction and fell in love with it. I fell further in love when the owner told me the story of the chair. She was around 80 at the time and told me that her father had made the chair for her when she was five years old.

I bought the chair and brought it home. I did not have small children anymore and did not yet have grandchildren, but the chair had a special place in my home from that day forward. After time, the seat split and it was no longer safe for little behinds to sit on. By now I did have grandchildren, so I kept a plant on the chair so my granddaughters would not sit on it and get pinched in a very sensitive area!

Ah! If this chair could talk! The stories it could tell. I look at it and imagine that father from long ago carefully handcrafting this chair for his beloved daughter. I can envision him in my mind carefully selecting, cutting and sanding the wood for this gift to his daughter. I can almost see him lovingly running his hand over the seat with that special smile that father's have for their children making sure that it is smooth and perfect. I imagine the pride and joy in his eye as he presents his precious child with this gift on a Christmas morning or maybe a birthday. A true gift from the heart.

Obviously the daughter loved the chair. She kept it long after she could no longer sit on it or have tea parties or do her embroidery or any of the other wonderful things she did on her special chair.

She kept it and passed it on to her children. My minds eye sees her children sitting upon this chair reading, having tea parties, or using it at the "kids" table at family gatherings. And then they too outgrew the chair.

But still she kept the chair. And then another generation of children used the chair - her grandchildren. Again, the old chair her father had crafted so many years ago hosted the games of childhood. Again the old chair was brought out and used to bring a little love and joy to the play of childhood. And perhaps there were great grandchildren - yet another generation to benefit from this wonderful gift from a father to his child.

Now the chair is going pass on to a new generation and a new family. Grampy has lovingly restored this chair to close to its' original condition. He took it apart, re glued, sanded, stained and varnished it so that it is once again beautiful. I watched as he lovingly ran his hand over the seat to make sure it was smooth and perfect. And, he had that special smile that grandfathers have for their grandchildren.

This chair is going to our grandson. We hope that he will find hours of fun sitting at this chair reading a book, drawing a special picture for mommy or daddy, or just sitting at the window watching the birds hop around in the yard. And who knows, maybe someday he will lovingly run his hand over the chair as he contemplates giving this chair to HIS child - and he will have that special smile..............