Polishing Silverware

I spent several hours Sunday afternoon polishing silver. I’m not going to say it’s one of my favorite things to do, but I have to admit to getting a certain amount of satisfaction from the chore.

One of the main reasons I enjoy the job is that most all of our silver comes from my parents. They had lots of it, remnants from another time when people actually hosted fancy dinner parties. Whenever I pull out those old platters I remember sitting in my bedroom and listening to the low murmur of conversation, the tinkling of glasses and spurts of laughter floating up from the dining room. Shining up those old items almost makes me feel like those days weren’t quite so long ago.

This Sunday, my chore was a bit different. My husband and I actually are hosting one of those old-school dinner parties next weekend. And, (to my surprise and delight) just about everyone we invited is able to come. That meant we were two place settings short.

Last week on a whim I went looking for some silverware in an antique shop near a favorite cafe. And there, in an old cardboard box, I found twenty assorted silver-plated forks, spoons, and knives for $15.

Success!

I ran home and showed my husband my find. To be honest, he was more than a little skeptical. See, the silverware was so old and uncared for, it was practically black. It didn’t look like it would ever be a good match to my parents’ silverware nestled carefully in felt liners in one of our kitchen drawers.

Making it pretty again was my perfect Sunday afternoon challenge. On went the gloves and an old t-shirt and shorts. It took me two hours and three rounds of polishing, rinsing, and buffing, but I did it. Those old pieces soon became lovely. I discovered they had little beads on the edges. They were stamped on the back. The spoons were rather unusually shaped.

And instead of being surrounded by old memories of my parents, polishing that silver spurred my imagination. I started thinking of the many things in my life that needed just a little bit more care. About places that I had started to ignore, imagining that they couldn’t be something of beauty again.

I even started thinking about different things about myself that I should try to improve! Who knows? Maybe I’ll one day learn not to be so hard on myself for mistakes I’ve made. Maybe I’ll even not to need so much coffee in the morning to be coherent! (There’s always hope!)

In the meantime, that old box of forgotten silver has found a nice home in my kitchen drawer. On Saturday night I’ll set it out with pride. And if someone asks about it? Why, I’ll have a pretty good story to share.

What do you have in your life that needs a little bit more time and attention?

Blessings to you,

Shelley