Aging with Grace

I’ve always liked things that got better with age.

Ralph Lauren

   The folding bridge table in the photo is around eighty years old. I’ve owned it for over 20 years. During that time, it has served as an additional serving table, lunch table or a fire screen. The reason I have it is that it’s from the historic building where we were married, it dates back to one of my favorite eras, and has all the warm, autumn, colors I love.  It definitely shows signs of wear, some of which I’m sure I’ve contributed to. I’ve always valued things that have history. It’s never mattered to me that they have nicks or scratches. Those flaws, as some might think of them, are what makes them interesting, in my view.

At one point in my career, I worked for a company that sold handbags and briefcases made of beautiful Italian leather. I was, sometimes, questioned about the leather scratching. Yes, of course, it’s going to scratch. It’s leather. Those marks that come with use are called, “”The patina of wear”. It’s what gives the piece character.

I have never felt the need for everything to be new. I think with our current climate, I am even more inclined not to get rid of things simply because they are worn. I grew up in a small town that had, what was then called, the town dump. Residents would take their trash and dump it in a large pile. Occasionally, it would be plowed over. I was thinking, the other day, about what was happened to that dump as the pile continued to grow. It had to go someplace. Not only do I feel a responsibility not to add to the accumulating trash, I find I am comfortable with my possessions and enjoy their patina of wear.