Why do we hold on to things that are material and clutter our homes and lives. As I started this year my goal was to lighten the load of material things. The less clothing in the closet the less mess and laundry to deal with. Dishes that haven’t served one scoop of food in years need to go. What about all those books that you haven’t even looked at in years. Well, they are all gone and I got a pretty penny for them at Half Price Books. So many things still need to go but there are somethings that are hard to let go of.
Years ago when we lived in Lucas I taught art to a lot of the neighborhood kids. I loved it, watching them create artwork for their moms. I taught one little girl in exchange for her dad teaching my son wood working lessons. It was great Dallas loved learning all about the tools and I loved teaching my neighbor’s daughter. Dallas made lots of really cool things but there was one piece that was so special and it still sits in my home.
Dallas decided he wanted to make his sister a piano bench. When he told me I was like okay son that’s great. I didn’t give it much thought after that. One day he came home carrying this large bench. He sat it down and proceeded to tell me all about how he helped Mr. Alan with making it. I was stunned as I look at the well made piece of furniture. Heather loved it and she sat on this bench many afternoons practicing her piano. As you can tell it has been around the block a few times, had a few drinks sat on it and was moved from home to home. I guess I really didn’t think much about it until………my daughter ask for it. Then I started thinking about Dallas and how proud he was as he made it. I went back to those many days of hearing Heather play sitting right on that same bench. Then I took a long look at the bench it wasn’t well cared for and it had seen better days. I avoided the subject when Heather would bring it up. I’d say oh okay I’ll get that ready for you and blow her off. Last night she told me she was starting piano lessons with Ethan. On the way home I started thinking how great it would be if Ethan sat at the same piano on the same bench built by his Uncle D for his practice times. I knew I had work ahead of me.
I got up extra early today to put on the first coat of paint. I chose Pure Pewter from the Chalk Country line for the outside. Gray is a big part of the decor color in her home. I wanted to give it a special twist and Heather’s love for all shades green gave me the idea. I painted Seagrass Green on the inside of the bench storage. Once dry I sanded back the edges, gave it 2 coats of Defender clear finish and a tug at my heart as I loaded it in my truck. On my way home from school on Tuesday I’ll be delivering it to my daughters home. This bench has sat at the end of my bed for the past 7 years. I guess I never really though much about it until I started working on it, then the well of memories over whelmed me. I’m glad to pass it back to my daughter, after all it was a gift to her from her brother so many years ago.
