did you ever have something in a relative's house that you weren't allowed to go near? or maybe it wasn't so much that you weren't ALLOWED to go near it, but that you knew if you did - because you would probably break it, or slobber on it or a million other things - you were going to be in it deep. there was a bunch of that kind of stuff in my grandparent's house (my mom's parents). they spent some time living in Japan and brought a lot of decorative art pieces back with them. one item was a real samurai sword complete with nicks in it from freakin' samurai fighting. you can imagine that my younger brothers were dying to get their mitts on that thing.
what i was completely ga-ga for was contained in a two-foot glass case. it was a geisha doll about a foot and half tall. it had the most exquisite hand-made dress, with the full geisha make-up and jewelry and coiffed hair. when i was a kid, i didn't even want to play with it - i just wanted to take it out of the case and look at it. surrounding the doll in the case were smaller Japanese figurines and ceramic tea cups and the teeniest paper umbrella. whenever i visited my grandparents i studied these items through the glass as if waiting to be tested on each thing.
fast forward a couple weeks ago. i discover that my mom has had the whole kit and kaboodle in storage since my grandfather died. so i rooted everything out and set it all up in my apartment and it's like i don't even know what to do. to hell with having children - i can't believe i'm in charge of the geisha doll!! i got to smooth out her fancy outfit and hair. i got to arrange the short, fat figurines that guard her. and i'm as possessive as all get out -i practically got one of those museum humidity-measuring devices to make sure the temp is okay in my apartment.
it's funny to see these small crests in life where you realize you're an adult; when you realize YOU'RE the one in charge, and well, it seems a little unreal. and scary. but satisfying all the same.
|
|
