Who gets stuck with the dishes?

Do you want these gifts from the past?

My parents have my great aunt Marjorie’s dishes.

There’s some china. There’s some silverware.

None of it is dishwasher safe.

None of it ever gets used.

These dishes take up a lot of space in a cabinet.

The cabinet takes up a lot of space in a room.

If these dishes have a story, neither myself, nor my sister knows it.

Someone, either her, or myself, are going to end up with the dishes.

After that?

One of our children will end up with the dishes.

What will we do with them?

Why do we keep them?

Is there anyone out there who collects bone China who can tell me how this stuff is important?

We all have gifts from the past. Whether it’s a degree we specialized in but didn’t use in our lives or a skill that we acquired that’s no longer necessary, we can be haunted by these gifts from our former selves.

What’s the ‘old bone China’ in your life?

Are you carting it around hoping to use it someday?

What would happen if you left it behind somewhere?