April is the annual blogging A to Z Challenge, where I blog a different letter of the alphabet daily. Click the link if you’d like to learn more about it.
I’ve decided to stick to a theme this month, and it’s going to be Things I Love.
Bench in garden, Pennsylvania
Photo Credit: Doree Weller
When I was a child, I spent a lot of time traveling with my grandparents, who sold antiques for a living. I knew what a hatpin holder and an oyster plate while I was still in elementary school.
We would drive to dusty old flea markets in their van, and before we could sleep for the night, we had to unload all the boxes full of fragile things. My grandfather and I would set up his tent (a metal structure with a tarp bungee corded to protect us). My grandpa told me that people would be more likely to stop by if we had something to protect them from the rain and the sun.
We set up tables and put tablecloths over them to make them look nice. Ink stained my fingers as we unwrapped the newspaper protecting tea sets and dolls and candlesticks and iron coin banks.
I grew up loving old things. Whenever I walk into an old junk store and inhale the smell of dust and mustiness, I feel like I’m home again. Going to a flea market feels like visiting an old friend.
Many of my best memories are tied up with flea markets, antiques, and my grandparents. Things that might be old and forgotten by the time you get to them were once loved by someone. Next time you come across an antique, don’t just wonder what it’s worth. Instead, close your eyes… and feel the history.
Doree Weller 