Surrogates & Heirlooms

Delicate saucers with dainty white flowers painted along a sterling trim…

These beauties were passed down to me from my grandmother. But just the saucers and dessert plates. No one knows or can remember how the cups were lost, broken or misplaced.

For years, I have dutifully kept up with the eight saucers and eight dessert plates, carrying them with me to wherever it is I call home. And yet, not once have I used them …

After our move this summer, I felt a fresh compulsion to right this wrong.

I whispered my sad state of affairs to a friend who is tender toward all things old and keeps a watchful eye for valuable beauty. Recognizing the pattern name, she assured me she would be on the lookout.

A week later, a box arrived in the mail containing five carefully wrapped Noritake - Pamela tea cups complete with a note pledging a continued quest for another three.

This is not my grandmother’s china. I know that. But the intentional grace that led these cups to my home is just as meaningful as the gift of inheritance.

Adding these dishes doesn't take away from the value of my grandmother's china … on the contrary, adding these cups redeems the purpose of the saucers and the usefulness of the plates.

Though incomplete and imbalanced, it is good enough for now. I can certainly begin to serve small settings of coffee, and that makes me happy.

This story is not over, and, best of all, I am not alone in this hope-filled, grateful, patient pursuit.