MIL Monday: It's An Antique!!

While visiting the ILs, Hubbie and I had the difficult task of cleaning out some of our boxes in their storage room. It was emotional going through remnants of our life in Sweden, sifting through the early years of our relationship.

Up on a shelf in this same storage room was a child's table, two matching chairs and a bench. I asked Hubbie about it, but he'd never seen it before. It was obviously old and looked quite disused. A dusty sage green with a nice curve to the legs, it was exactly the right size for LittleBird and LittleMan.

Upstairs that night I spoke with my MIL about it. She was excited that I had noticed it, and she told me it was very old. It had been her father's table, she explained. Which made it over one hundred years old. She proudly told me that it had been her table to play on when she was a little girl.

At two different points in the conversation I agreed with her how adorable the table was, and how it was the perfect size for the kids to use right now.

She never offered to let them use it.

My mom and I had quite the discussion about this once I got home. I could understand if my MIL felt this was such a special antique that no one was going to use it. If so, take care of it. Clean it up. Polish it. Display it or donate it to a children's history museum.

I also could have asked her point-blank if my children could use it. However, I felt I opened the door to give her the opportunity to offer it's use to her grandchildren without blatantly putting her on the spot. She either didn't get it, or did get it and I got her message.

So there it sits, mouldering away in their storage room. My children will more than likely be too big to use it the next time they are there.

What the hell is she waiting for?