My Mother's China

Sixteen years ago, my mother gave me a set of china plates as a wedding gift. They sat in their original box for a couple of years until we got a kitchen hutch. I used the plates for display in the hutch and never used them for anything else. Six years later, we moved and got rid of the hutch (it was a hand me down and was beginning to fall apart). This time they were shelved at the top and never to be seen again. Alas, we moved to a different state. Not one plate from the set chipped or shattered. And even with that survival rate, the plates were imprisoned again on a different top shelf.

Until one day, I had to learn how to host a Ladies Bible Studies... with real plates. I was the last to host, and quite frankly seeing what the others were doing told me that my fine china Styrofoam plates will not do. Could it be?

I borrowed recipe ideas from Pinterest and decided to theme my dinner to a garden theme. I baked a cake (I was practicing for the Wedding Cake I was going to attempt to bake later)-what?! More on that later.

And yes! My mother's china plates came out.  They were so beautiful. Why haven't I noticed it before? I realized that in life we take things for granted. They are there everyday and we take no notice. Like the plates...it made me realize to take the time to give others by simply taking ME off the top shelf. Let my love for others shine. I am grateful for my mother's china plates. It allowed for that extra piece of love that night.