A Gift to Treasure

My dear friend Veronica gifted my youngest daughter this German-made figurine after decluttering her china cabinet last year.

While watching the HGTV show Cash & Cari, my eldest daughter and I were encouraged by Cari's love of antiques and unusual objects, as well as ordinary everyday objects, to re-examine this beautiful figurine.

What we found out was that this treasured gift was made by a German company called Hutschenreuther Selb Kunstabteilung. That's a mouthful, isn't it?

All of my girls, as well as Veronica's own daughter, took dance lessons while growing up. My middle daughter danced when she was little, but lost interest and went on to pursue other artistic endeavors. My eldest danced until high school, then chose piano and voice.

But my youngest daughter's interest in dance continued to become more serious as she grew up, so it was natural for my friend to think of Lindsay when looking for a new home for this beauty.

Lindsay danced from the time she could walk. As a young woman, she minored in dance at Sonoma State. After college she moved to San Francisco to dance in the modern dance world. Now she works mostly off-stage, both behind a camera, filming dancers and editing dance films, and in the studio teaching young dancers.

She actually lives in the building in which she teaches and has performed, but the living area is very small, with little safe space to display such a delicate figurine as this one. And so, she has entrusted it to my care, leaving these lovely dancers to arabesque together on a shelf in my living room, awaiting the day Lindsay has just the right place for them.

For now, it is a constant reminder of all the years of pride and pleasure I experienced at each and every dance performance -- not to mention all the hours of driving to and from dance classes. Ah... the memories.

Do you have an object that brings back your happy memories?