The Hidden Treasure...

I found this Secretary Desk at the Goodwill not too long ago.

It was on a dolly and they were just bringing it out on the floor!

The paint was chipping and it was missing the legs and I wasn't sure where I would put it...

but I grabbed it up...there was just something so lovely about it...and it was only $25!

Isn't she beautiful?

 The front opens up perfectly...

 The doors are covered in chicken wire...

The top has beautiful detailing...

And the removable insert is still intact  (many are missing from these old desks!)

After getting the desk home I began to examine it more closely...That is when I pulled out the insert to find a hidden treasure...and envelope was lodged behind it...could it be the thousands of dollars that Grandma had stashed away years ago?...

NO OF COURSE NOT...

But there were three large old  index cards inside the envelope that were hand written on.

The writings explained all about the painting of the desk, the process used, how she had not quite completed it and detailed instructions for doing so.  She wrote how her dad had moved the desk in when the rain was pouring and one of the legs came off.  The logical place to put it, she wrote, would have been in one of the drawers, but dad has no idea where he put it and she has looked everywhere for it.  She knew the paint was beginning to crack and peel and apologized for not being able to repair it.  Then she wrote this...

It says, "Did you find my mongram on the front pull down drawer leaf hidden among the flowers?  This was Effie's secretary.  I took it even before she dies but she never saw what I did to it."

And there is her monogram, just where she said it was...Can you see it?

"MLM" right there in the center of her tole painting...I don't know her name, she didn't sign the cards...
but her brief writings caused me to know her nonetheless.

You can see for yourself that the paint is cracking and peeling...and there are some unfinished spots...but one can easily look past these flaws and see the beauty in the piece.  And after all, don't these imperfections just offer more character?  Indeed they do!

But the day will come when the yellow will no longer  match with my decor and the cracking and peeling will be defects rather than just "character".
My husband forsees this day coming rather soon and looks towards restaining or painting it.  He is probably right...
But it is hard to strip away the  history and the story of  "MLM" and her creative labor, especially when you realize how hard she worked on it.
I know however; with all things the memories are not in the object no matter what monetary worth it may possess or the amount of hours it took to create it.
The memories, although initially generated from the handiwork, remain because of the story behind the creator;  her spirit and motivation.
We may hold on to a quilt that is falling to pieces because of the recollection it triggers and the warmth it seems to give our soul, but the truth is...after the quilt is gone..the feelings are forever captured in our hearts.