29 April 2008

Several years ago, my parents had been thinking about getting Bre and I a hopechest each, but they weren’t sure how it would all turn out. About four years ago, we went down to visit our grandparents and to pick up a dining room furniture set. While we were there, Grandpa Phil took Bre into one of the rooms, with the rest of us following behind. He showed her a hopechest, and said, “For your fourteenth birthday, this is going to be yours.” She was overjoyed.

I have to admit that I felt left out, but the next day, Grandpa Phil took me into another room and showed me a smaller, yet more dainty hopechest and said that it would be mine for my fourteenth birthday. I was shocked. Here I’d been feeling sorry for myself, when I was going to receive one too!

About a couple years later, on one of their trips up here, they brought Breezy’s hopechest with them. She had turned fourteen just a few months before, so it was right on time. Her hopechest was Phil’s Cousin’s hopechest and was about fifty years old. It is a very nice size, with lots of room inside. When he presented it to her, he also gave her a photo of his cousin, along with the history of the chest.

Just a few days ago, my long awaited gift (quite a ways after my fourteenth birthday) arrived. It is absolutely lovely! On April 22, 2008 I received my hopechest – wrapped in pink plastic. Breezy’s was also wrapped this way. It looks quite comical like this, but what really matters is underneath.

Below is a photo of the hopechest with the lid open. The hopechest was originally bought in 1926 for Phil’s mother – it was purchased and given to her by his father, three years before they were married.

When I first opened it, a strong scent of cedar filled the air around me. Before it came up here it held Grandpa Phil’s baby shoes, as well as an Indian headdress. He has a picture of himself as a little boy wearing the headdress.

We got it upstairs into my room, right before he left, and set it up. It looks wonderful. I have it sitting at the foot of my bed.

Inside this precious chest, I will keep items for my future. It will contain blankets for wee ones, kitchen tools for cooking, and little things that make the home a happy place to be. I had kept all of the items that will go into my hope chest in a square sewing box.

In a few days I’ll post more pictures of the inside and it’s contents, as well as a list of what I have collected so far, and what I hope to collect in the future.

Over the years, I will continue to add things to it, and one day, I will be able to use them in my own home with my family.

Blessings,

Categories: Family, Miscellaneous, The Home, Vintage