The hunt continues for an old claw foot tub to restore. Yesterday, I called the lone antique store in a neighboring town. "We don't have any tiger paws, but I know where you could find one" was the answer from the old lady on the other end of the line. And that is how my mother, sister, three boys, and I ended up behind a decrepit old farmhouse in a town that time forgot.
As we were driving down country roads, I was musing about the familiarity of it all. I remember so vividly, being the child in the back seat, complaining about being dragged along on yet another "adventure" for an old claw foot tub, tongue and groove, or sinks. Mom, on the hunt for old fixtures to go in the house that, at the time, was still just a dream in her head, would haul all four of us kids (6, 4, 2, and newborn, at the time) into her extended cab Ford F-150, and spend the afternoon traversing the dirt roads of south GA, looking for the perfect sink to restore. I remember it so vividly. And now I am doing the same with my children...and my mother. All things old are new again.
This is why I stay. This is why I live in small town, GA with the gnats, and the obnoxious who's who, and the unbelievable heat and humidity. I stay for the family connections. The roots. Hearing my children whining in the backseat, and telling them that when I was a little girl, I traveled these same roads, with a mother who was on the same mission.
Stealing dirt from my Daddy's back forty, putting my children down for naps at Nana's in the same room, same crib, I grew up in, searching the backwoods of GA for a claw foot tub with an excited passion that my mother not only understands, but passed down to me, is priceless.
Searching for the perfect old tub to save is much more than just searching for an old tub. It is a piece of my past. A connection to my mother. My children don't get that now. Hopefully they will someday. I hope that when they are grown, they laugh together about the times that mom dragged them with her all over the country, looking for the perfect tub in a tumbleweed town....just like I do with my brothers now.
*this image is from poll sci girl on flickr.com
I *love* it. What a feel good post. You might not live on a "dirt road" but that's what I call myself, a "red, dirt road girl". I feel a sense of kindred spirit in your post. Here's to small tumbleweed towns and roots that grow deep.
ReplyDeleteIt's just as much fun the second time around, except your boys are MUCH louder than mine were! Tee Hee! Mama
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ReplyDeletegreat post. i love remembering the past and trying to connect my memories to what I do with my boys. I hope you find your tub!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I have been wondering how far south in GA you are because Atlanta has some places that might be good places to hunt.
ReplyDeleteA tub hunt! Oh, how fun. We have an old one at the beach house. It's really an antique -- not a fancy, new remake. It is my favorite part of the house. It is one of my favorite places to be. Claw foots speak to my heart. Your adventure sounds like fun. I can really identify with your reasons for staying in a small town - the obnoxious who's who, the heat, the humidity, the gnats, the gossip mill, and all that goes with rural, small town life. For it is the same reasons that I stay even after I fancy moving at times. So, did you score? Did the hunt lead to a treasure? Did you get the tub? Where did you find it?
ReplyDeleteLaurel,
ReplyDeleteI swear are you my twin?
Your posts are *so* like me!!
I love everything about what you said here. I love family ties and roots. So satisfying.
love this dear post :) been on the mild hunt for one too...for my master bathroom that is decked out in ugly gold 80's fixtures :)
ReplyDeleteLaurel, you are so funny. Love this post!
ReplyDeleteAlmost makes me want to move back to the Boro....almost...
LAUREL-- I'm looking for one, too! Did you get that one?? I'll call your mom when we get to the restoration part of it all. So... let me know if you happen across yet another old beauty. BTW- Loved your post.
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice post - really takes me back in time, but mine was on country roads in south Alabama. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI JUST took the girls and the baby to the fabric store the other day to look for a pattern. Crazy! I was just thinking of how I used to complain about sitting around in the fabric store while my mother looked at patterns. So funny! ... our lives have come full circle. isn't it great!?
ReplyDeletelets take it a step further?!
ReplyDeletehere is something really cool!
http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00002_p2.asp
AND! thats not all. I found another awesome blog. its called A Dress A Day. Google it.