Layering in Family Heirlooms
Using a family heirloom when cooking or baking, like your mother’s rolling pin or your grandmother’s bread bowl creates such a wonderful layer of connection to loved ones.
I have a beautiful, rustic yellow bowl with blue stripes that belonged to my husband’s grandmother, Lillian. She used it twice a week for decades when she would make her famous whole wheat toasting bread. The sight of this bowl evokes many happy memories for him.
Rather than storing it on a shelf or in the attic, I have it in active rotation and make sourdough bread in it on a regular basis. My kids know the history and value of this family treasure and also know that when they see it, it means they will have warm, yummy bread for breakfast the next morning.
So instead of their great grandmother being merely a bunch of stories and black and white photos, the simple use of this bowl deepens the sense of connection to her and becomes part of the landscape of their lives.