Family Treasures on a Happy Friday

It is indeed a Happy Friday for me, as I hope it is for all of you.  Fridays are always good since they lead us into the weekend, but this Friday I'm particularly tickled pink - or should I say blue?

Have you ever received something so meaningful that it makes your heart skip a beat?  Well that's what happened to me this week.  I am now the lucky, humbled & proud owner of the beautiful blue chest of drawers pictured below.  This piece was not only in my mother's bedroom when she was a child, but it originally belonged to my great grandfather, lovingly referred to as "Macaw." The name Macaw comes from my mother's attempt to say the word "Grandpa" when she was just a little tyke learning how to speak. Macaw passed away decades ago, long before I was ever born, but my mom & all her siblings have always spoken so highly of him.  It's easy to see how much he meant to all of them, and I know I would have felt the same had I had the chance to know him.  I've even been told that my ability to draw life-like portraits comes from him, which makes my heart skip about a hundred more beats...

Anyone who knows me well can attest to the fact that I am a sentimental being when it comes to all things family. One of the reasons I love my little apartment in Chicago so much is because I have filled it with things that hold great sentimental value for me.  I have blueprints that my late grandfather sketched of my mom's childhood home which hang in my living room; original black & white photographs from the 1940's of my grandparents during their courtship in Iowa; a print done by my uncle Matt when he was in college; a headboard made by hand by one of my aunts; a feather & wood bird illustration that hung in my grandmother's laundry room, and a wooden moon wall hanging that belonged to my father's mother - just to name a few...

I am very lucky to have these items in my home, and my heart is filled with happiness every time I think about the meaning & history behind each one.  There is no greater gift to me than something with true meaning or a story behind it - something that has survived generations & could tell endless tales if only it could speak...♡

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