A Family Heirloom

The 10 year old rocker. We purchased this chair when I was pregnant with Sam. We stained and finished it for our first condo in Utah. Granted, it wasn't the most comfortable chair to nurse a baby or even rock in. Most Moms are buying those fancy gliders. I'm not sure they even had those 10 years ago, surely they did, but I just wanted an old fashioned, basic looking rocker for our first born. Since then we have had 3 other kids and I'm not certain whether any of them were rocked in this chair.
The chair has been painted since then, in fact, Barb spray painted it for me last summer to match new cushions for our deck furniture. (The rocker was moved outdoors after we moved to this house 6 years ago.)

After we returned from Abu Dhabi this summer I found the rocker in this state of disrepair, peeling paint, mainly. Along with what used to be a cute Coke cooler that has since been sun faded, I told Brad the two items could go to the dump if he was making a run. Today, Brad asked if I really wanted to get rid of the rocker. He, who usually loves to unload "dead weight", was second guessing my decision. He commented that there was a lot of sentimental value to it.
After thinking about his comments I remembered that not only had Sam been rocked in the chair but Grandma Watts had spent a lot of time rocking and dozing in it on our deck in the sunshine during the summers. I am so glad that Brad was wise enough to question me on this chair. It looks worn and quite bad, but it holds a lot of great memories for me. If this chair could talk or show a list of all the people who have spent time in it, it would have a great list of valuable memories for our family. There is no reason to unload something that has grown old or is no longer attractive...after all, that may be just a sign of the experiences it has had or the service it has rendered. Just like people.