Ring a Ding

This is a little brass bell that I have for no other reason than I like it. It serves no purpose in this house other than it makes a nice little grouping on our bookshelf.

I found in at my great-aunts house. She had passed and my parents were in charge of closing her house. She was in her 80's, had outlived three husbands, and had lived in this house for 35 years. The homestead was next door and she had lived in that home from about 1935 - 1970.
The amount of stuff that was packed into that house was mind-boggling.

This bell was on a shelf somewhere. It wasn't hung on a door or packed with Christmas decorations. It seems that its purpose in that house was much like it purpose here. Something pretty.

Aunt Betty didn't have children, just like me, so it's not like it was a pioneer in child safety. She wasn't a store owner so check that off the list as well. Her husbands were working men, farmers and such. The bell is too small to be a cow bell. And there were some of those in the barn.

So, this strange little bell is spending another lifetime with no purpose other than being sparkly.

A little side note: if you've ever closed a house you'll know what I'm talking about. If you haven't: Think about the things that you have kept in your life. Consider whether or not they are ever going to serve a purpose in your or someone else's life. Consider what your children will think when they discover it.

Now think about what happens if someone else is going to pack up your house. *gasp* those old letters from boyfriends! that trashy, racy novel that no one knows you've read - let alone own, all those old school projects! That credit card bill that your spouse doesn't know about!

Yikes.

Makes you want to go clean your closet, eh?

See, that little bell made you think, didn't it?