Repairing broken pieces

Today I broke my gravy boat. I could just leave that thought there, but it's so much more. 

In search of something else in the not- often-used cupboard, a misstacked piece led to this accident. I was annoyed that I would not have been in that cupboard in the first place had "someone" not moved the jar I was looking for. But in reality, who misstacked the piece? That was undoubtedly me. So, let's put blame where it belongs.

There is no sentimental value to this gravy boat. It was not my Mom's or even a gift. In fact, I know I purchased it probably for fifty cents at a tag sale. I remember being excited to finally have a proper bowl for gravy. It's not necessarily a design I would have chosen, but I was the happy owner of a gravy boat. No awkward bowl to serve gravy in. It could be poured, or I usually put this little ladle I had in it. It is only used on one of the three major holidays, once and if lucky, twice a year. 

Now what to do? There are several options. It's a clean break. This one could be glued fairly easily, if there is such a thing. I do not enjoy gluing things. I end up with a few things awaiting the eventual "glue party", which rarely happens. I was so grateful when my teenage grandson was visiting and he had the patience to glue back a piece I had tried and tried to fix....it was Mary's hand in my nativity scene. It required propping it up in a precarious position. It wasn't an easy thing to do and he spent hours going back and getting it just right. I was so thankful. I thanked him by finding something else that needed gluing. 

Now, my poor granddaughter's patience is running out because I haven't fixed the teapot that her younger brother accidently broke. It's not an easy break--three pieces, one being a little chip. This was a tea set from when I was little and at first I was pretty sad, but I, as I have been doing a lot lately, said, "It's only things." How do "things" really matter in the big scheme of life? (And whose bright idea was it to give children real china to play with?) 

Usually, once broken, that's the end of it for me.  I have joined the throw away society. But the recycling part of me remembers that some people use broken china pieces in artwork. Who did I know that could use it and if not, where would you donate such pieces? I'm sure if I ask, everyone will think I'm crazy. My mind is one big hoppity, hop rabbit trail all day long. Don't follow me unless you want to take the scenic route of my brain.

My thoughts then turn to, "Was this worth something?" Had I bought it at the tag sale and discovered it was worth money, as much as I was delighted to have a gravy boat finally, I would have sold it in a heartbeat. I love small investments that have big returns. Today I flipped it over. 

In a google search, I didn't see the exact one, but others from this company range from $40 to over $100. Dang. Had I known, I would have tried to sell it. If I glue it, it will lose most of its value, except as a gravy boat.

So, the question is, do I glue it together or do I toss it away?

This thought leads me to life and relationships. How often do we have broken relationships and have the same decision to make?. Is it worth trying to glue it back together or should we walk away? Is there any value left to saving the relationship? Is it a clean break that is easier to repair? If it's not clean, will we put in the work to try and fix it? Will that crack always show and can we live with it? How many times do we put in the work to repair cracked relationships? At what point do we give up and walk away? 

I have some relationships with cracks in them. I have not given up on them. The scars are still there. Cracks are just a part of life. Often pieces with cracks have to be handled a little more carefully or differently. If only we were all perfect pieces with no flaws. 

If you are wondering, I will certainly try to glue the teapot together for the sake of my grandchildren who enjoy it. It will be hard but because of their joy playing with it, I will do this labor of love. It could also be passed down, if anyone cares. If I fail, I will look for another set online for play--more practical for younger children. As for the gravy boat, it's a clean break and a flat piece. Should be pretty easy to glue. I will leave it out and now I can have a glue party with two pieces to do now so they don't end up in a "to be glued" pile which gets put aside and put aside--like the collection of knotted necklaces that I have. Ugh! I need some good hacks on that one. 

Cracks, like our wrinkles, come with life. They are inevitable. Much as I don't enjoy gluing, relationships can be hard and it is necessary. I have my "glue bottle" handy. It's a special mixture of patience, forgiveness, understanding, communication, time, prayer, compassion, even humor but most of all, love. I know the sooner I use it, the better. There are some pieces that just tend to break easily. We learn to handle those differently. We may need to keep repairing again and again. (Matthew 18:21-22). 

I've seen more and more of our throw away society, not interested in helping the broken or taking the time to understand anyone who is different, especially those whose scars are visible. To quote a song, "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me." As for me, I'm going to get out the glue. Will you?

Our 33rd trip to the the Big E

A little over a month before we were to be married, we made our first trip together to the Big E. I had only been once or twice before and that was George's first time. We enjoyed all the exhibits, entertainment and new products on display that we had not seen elsewhere. The Big E is the biggest fair in New England. The official name is the Eastern States Exposition. It used to run about ten days but in the last few years they have extended it to seventeen days and I think that controls the crowds.

We usually take a day off from work to go during the week, but this year due to schedules we went on Saturday. I think it is cruel to raise the price on the weekends for admission and for parking however, after seeing the million trillion people there on this Saturday, perhaps that's a good idea. Stay tuned for pictures of a couple hundred of those people.

First is George's favorite building--The Better Living Center which shows you the latest gadgets that will make your life so much better. There are things that slice, they dice, they clean faster and better than anything, they hold things, they mold things, they will amaze you with demonstrations before your very eyes.

The Salad Master booth was where we made our first major purchase from the Big E in 1975. We bought our first set of pots and pans. Well, actually our only set of pots and pans. These are the most amazing, sturdy stainless steel pans. They will out live us for sure. They were quite pricey then and even more so now, but we have never regretted the purchase. If he had bought cheaper sets and had to replace them over the years, we would have paid the same amount of money.

That was our first big purchase and over the years we have bought other big things, little things and small things. This year after the amazing demonstration we bought "the last glue you will ever use". We even heard some unsolicited testimonials from the crowd (always an encouraging thing). You only need a couple of drops and we bought two thousand drops worth.

We also bought some microfiber cloths that you only need water to clean windows, glass, computer and TV screens, tile, shower stall, etc, etc. We only saw the demonstration on George's glasses, so we'll have to put it to the real test. But it would be nice not to need to buy cleaning products.

So, the new products are a big draw for us. Next posting...another must see.