fatesfolly | Spoons

My grandmother was married on January 24, 1934. They eloped because she says that was what people did when they did not have money for a wedding. It was clearly during the Depression and as a student of history, I know it was a hard time to have lived through.

Seventy years later, she still lives as if it were 1934.

Sometime during their marriage, they acquired all the accoutrements of a household. She has silver, china, and crystal. She has gorgeous furniture. I've always admired these things. I don't know when they were bought, or how, but it's a part of my grandmother's household.

She also has a set of stainless flatware for everyday. It's the same pattern I imagine she's had for at least fifty years. She's got service for 12 in this pattern. Every night, I set the table using this familiar flatware. Sometime in her recent history, however, she has let one of the spoons get scuffed by the garbage disposal. The metal nicks on the edge of the spoon aren't readily noticeable until you put it in your mouth... then owwww!

So I've tried to throw this spoon away. It's an accident waiting to happen. I swear she won't miss it. When will she ever throw another party where she will A) use her everyday flatware and B) miss the one, damaged spoon? But she resists my want of throwing it away. I've even tried storing it in the back of the drawer out of the regular spot for teaspoons. But still, like a bad penny, it turns up.

Invariably, I get this spoon, like I did last night. Tired, still fighting this awful cold, and the only one at the table who can make conversation, I just sat there and ate my peaches, trying to avoid the rough metal.

Is this spoon that important to her collection of stainless, even though it's damaged? Wouldn't the collection be that much more enjoyable if you knew there wasn't a chance of getting this owww-inspiring utensil?