Sunday, May 31, 2009

Trash or treasure?


In my garden under a tall tree you will find an old, worn bench that is not very pretty at all. Many people ask me why I bother to keep something so unattractive. "There are so many beautiful garden furniture you can buy now. Have you seen those white painted benches?" People mean well, but they don't realize that what they look upon as trash can be someone's treasure. And this bench is my treasure.

I grew up in a very large old house with a beautiful big garden. It could have been a paradise for kids, but since I was an only child I always felt very lonely. I would spend my days playing by myself. When I turned four my parents hired a nanny that was going to take care of me while they worked. She was old - really, really old. She was heavyset, had a bad hip and thin yellowish white hair that she would wear in a roll at the back of her head. Her name was Dadda (of course this wasn't her real name, but it was the only one I ever knew). I thought she was terrible at first. But after a while we became friends. Every day she would make us a picnic-basket and we would walk hand in hand down to an old bench that was placed in between some large trees. There we would sit and she would tell me wonderful stories that brought my imagination to places I had never been. She would make my favorite sandwiches and always bring a treat. She taught me the names of different flowers and sometimes she would read to me. I learned to love those hours spent with her on the bench. As I grew older less time was spent on the bench and one day Dadda was gone. And the bench was left there, all by itself down by the old trees. I didn't have time for fairytales anymore, and I forgot all about the bench.

The day came when my dad had sold the house. Everything was packed into boxes and as I walked up the driveway I saw someone about to throw an old grey bench into a large container. Suddenly I realized that it was MY bench, the one I spent countless hours on as a child. I wanted that bench! For me it symbolized my childhood memories, fairytales and an unlikely frienship that made a lonely little girl just a little bit less lonely.

The bench is now placed under a large birch tree in my garden. It is tattered and worn, very little stylish and most people would throw it away. But for me it is a treasure and I tell my kids the story.

Maybe you have a similar treasure?

20 comments:

Unknown said...

Hm... vakker og god historie.. Som shabbydame, har jeg selvsagt lagt merke til benken og jeg synes den er fin.., men jeg visste ikke historien bak..
Klemmer fra Nanni som ser George of the Jungle med de to yngste Nannibarna ~

Dreamgirl said...

Tusen takk for tilbakemelding. Jeg er sikker på at du også har skatter som bringer fram minner i deg. Håper du deler disse minnene med oss på Nannisverden.

Jeg er så takknemlig for at du inviterte meg inn i Bloglandia - dette er så gøy!

Store lange og varme klemmer fra meg

Country Girl said...

What a lovely story. I can understand why you keep the bench.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I like it here. And I love brownies, too.

Jannicke said...

Hei,
og velkommen som blogger!
Nå har jeg kost meg her på bloggen din.. Masse fine bilder! Likte spesielt collagen fra dagen ved sjøen... Jammen er det deilig nå!!
Benken var flott, og ekstra kjekt er det jo når du har minner fra den..
Takk for koselig melding til meg, veldig kjekt!
ha en flott dag i dag! Klem J.

Dreamgirl said...

Hello again, and thanks to Countrygirl and Jannicke for stopping by my blog and leaving such nice comments! I'm completely new at this, but have already discovered that I love it! I find so much inspiration looking at the blogs of the girls with more experience. See you soon!

Have a wonderful, sunny and relaxing day.

HUGS!

Nooria said...

Vet du, jeg synes benken var nydelig jeg! Jeg liker sånt. Historien gjorde jo ikke benken mindre sjarmerende heller da :-). Så gøy at du har laget deg blogg du også. Den skal jeg jammen følge med på :-).

Om du mener den petrolfargede ullkjolen og strikkeluen, så har jeg designet og sydd kjolen selv. Om du ser på blogginnlegg fra i vinter, vil du også se en del barnekjoler i ull.

Og så en synd å bekjenne: Jeg så et aldeles nydelig bilde av gangstien deres med scilla på sidene. Jeg mener du skrev den var fra hytten i Hvitsten (det var Hvitsten eller?). Jeg likte så utrolig godt stemningen på bildet, og jeg har laget en gangsti selv hvor jeg ønsket å oppnå noe av den samme stemningen, så jeg beskjærte bort den delen av bildet som viser datteren din og brukte det i bloggen for å vise hva slags stemning jeg vil oppnå. Du har kanskje sett det? Håper det er ok. Jeg burde spurt først...

M said...

Hei!
Tusen takk for hilsen og forslag.
Dette var en skjønn historie!
Jeg skal slå følge med deg, jeg.
Jeg er bare en kjapp runde rundt med kaffekoppen, er ikke helt i bloggehumør, men det er nå litt selskap i det!
Ha en fin fridag videre!
Blogg you later, M

Unknown said...

Sjå der, ja... nå er du igang!
Jeg sitter i info i det store huset du vet...og blogger.... jada, et velsignet nettverk ;o)
Klem til deg, vennen <3

Unknown said...

Det ligger en hilsen til deg hos meg nå :)
Love.

Dreamgirl said...

Tusen takk for hyggelige bloggkommentarer. Jeg setter veldig stor pris på besøk:-) Dette er en helt ny verden som har åpnet seg for meg!

Ønsker dere alle sammen en deilig uke. Nå får vi håpe at sommeren har kommet for å bli...

P.S. Nooria - det er bare hyggelig at du har brukt bildet mitt! Ser på det som et kompliment:-)

KLEM

ANETTESHUS.COM said...

Hei! Takk for hyggelig hilsen:) Så flott blogg du har!!! Velkommen til bloggverdenen;)

Ha en fin uke!

Klem Anette:)

Unknown said...

Hei vennen,
gleeeder meg til bursdagsgave og julegave...den hadde jeg vel glemt...
Formiddagsklem ~

Unknown said...

you are a wonderful writer! i loved learning a piece of your childhood. thanks for sharing. i'll have to make sure to check back often :)

p.s. your pics are amazing!

Dreamgirl said...

Hi Kozgirl!
Thanks for your lovely comment. I'm so grateful that people want to read the stuff I'm writing. I just started this blog last week so I do have a lot to learn.

I do think maybe I know who you are:-) I tried to take a look at your blog, but it's by invitation only. So I would be very honored if you would consider inviting me to see your blog.

Take care and have a wonderful Friday.
HUG

martine said...

that is such a lovely tale. thanks for sharing. memories are made of such small simple things
much love Martine

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

What a truly beautiful story. I enjoyed reading it and learning more about you. I'm glad you saved the bench and the story to go along with it to share with your children..hugs ~lynne~

ymK said...

I'm sure I will keep coming back to your blog. I LOVE your pics. And that was a touching story. I'm glad you got to keep the bench.

B said...

Hi, I love your blog(s) and am so glad you stopped by my little corner of the world to say hello. Looking forward to dropping the kids at school and spending the morning perusing your world. x

Angie said...

I've visited your blog many times but never clicked on the the story in your side bar until today. What a beautiful story and walk down your memory lane! The bench is PERFECT!! ;)

Deborah said...

Beautiful...I love this story.
How thoughtful of you to keep this and I think its a tressure.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful life story with us!

Deborah xo

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