Quick Silver

My mom came from a very poor family in St. Johns, Michigan. 

As a teen, she and several of her sisters would help with dinner parties at some of the homes nearby.  I find it hard to believe that Mom told me she never felt poor.  Didn’t she notice the contrast in living conditions?

It was at these parties that she grew to love the dishes and silverware that she used to set and unset the tables.  After my parents married and WWII ended, Mom managed to buy Noritake china and silverware for her “good table”.  Every Sunday we would eat using these on a freshly ironed tablecloth on the dining room table. And, after Grandpa Bernath died, grandma would join us weekly.

When I was married, I received silverware for eight from my folks, and each year Mom bought me two place settings of the china I had selected until I had twelve.  I’ve collected more silverware --random patterns--that were on sale until I had twelve place settings along with any serving piece one could ever use.  When I was a stay-at-home mom--the days when people entertained--I set a “good table” more than for just Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Our young family moved around a lot, and thanks to Mom’s devotion to her grandchildren, she would visit us no matter where we were living.   Planes, trains, and automobiles were her best friends, and when Mom visited, she always asked if she could polish my silverware. I never declined her offer!

In 1978, we ended our vagabond life and made our home in Mason.  This is close to Chelsea where my folks lived, so Mom no longer had to come and stay for a week in order to see her grandchildren.  There were many advantages to this move, but the downside was I had to assume the task of cleaning the silverware.   I have reluctantly polished it whenever I’ve hosted dinner parties--now a diminishing number of times a year. 

Late in her life, Mom gave her granddaughter, Megan, both her china and silverware, and they were stored in my attic for awhile. Today we would say my parents were downsizing, although that was before we had a name for it.  When Megan married, she climbed into the attic and took both to their new home where they are stored in her glass breakfront cabinet. Indeed, it is satisfying to eat Christmas dinner with the table set with Mom’s legacy.

About two months ago, I took on this task again and thought of Mom’s pleasure in it.  However, an existential crisis ensued.  What will become of my china and silverware? Salvation Army?  An estate sale? Will my grandchildren ever want it?  They have been raised in the era of minimalism.  Although  I’m sure they will hold traditional celebrations at least for Thanksgiving and Christmas, is that enough to store and polish anything?  Have dinner parties vanished forever? Setting “good tables'' takes motivation, time and energy.  With very few stay-at-home parents, people today entertain very casually, and the pandemic has altered further how, when and where gatherings happen.

When I was polishing my silverware two months ago, I used a product called “Quick Silver”, and it triggered a wonder:  Perhaps plasticware is the quicksilver of the day.