The celebration got me thinking about how so many things have changed in 19 years, but some remain the same. One thing that happens like clockwork is the annual placing of the Biederlack blanket on our bed when the weather gets cold. My youngest calls it the mommy blanket. (He has a special blanket of his own so he knows the importance of such an item.)
We received the blanket as a wedding gift 19 years ago. I don't exactly remember opening this gift to be honest. We didn't register at any department stores and I didn't have a wish list at all. Any presents on the gift table were a complete surprise. I wanted people to select a gift they thought would come in handy for a newlywed couple. I have to admit, the blanket did not get much use during our first couple years of wedded bliss. Living near Virginia Beach, the winters were a little less harsh than they are in western PA.
I had never heard of a Biederlack blanket. Doing research for this column, I discovered they were once manufactured and distributed in Cumberland, Maryland. This brings the gift into perfect focus now as my friend, who gifted the blanket, grew up there and I would imagine people from Cumberland had great pride for this well made, once locally produced item.
According to Wikipedia, in 2009, the Biederlack company ceased its North America manufacturing operations. I had no idea, years ago, that this warm, soft, white blanket, made in Cumberland, according to the tag which is worn but can still be read, would make the almost two decade journey down life's bumpy road.
I still have quite a few wedding gifts that have lasted almost two decades including: a wall grandfather clock, a 50 cup coffee maker, a roasting pan, a few other kitchen gadgets, and the angel that sits on my Christmas tree. I am happy that I still have a lot of these items. Personally, I think they mean more to me than things my husband and I would have chosen on a registry.
There are things, like the 50 cup coffee maker, that I never would have selected at age 25, not knowing how often it would come in handy at many a church or reception type function. Also, the roaster, I did not envision making a turkey dinner when I first got hitched. My husband and I lived on Hamburger Helper in the beginning, no joke. But now, the roaster has been instrumental in not only turkey dinners, but cooking the Easter ham and racks of baby back ribs.
It is nice to look at these items from time to time and recall the person or persons who brought them into our journey. I have a lovely crystal serving dish and bowl from my cousin who now lives in Iowa. Life has a way of moving people around and it is nice to remember how on a rainy October day, our closest friends and family were together to see us take the first of many steps as husband and wife.
Luckily, we received some pretty wonderful wedding gifts because my husband and I have not been big gift givers on our anniversary. Looking back, I wish we would have observed the traditional gifts for each year. It would have been nice to have a collection of 19 things to look back on from each milestone year. We did assemble a collection of three kids, the gifts that keep giving and taking.
According to the internet, the gift for #19 is jade. My husband and I both missed the memo on the that but apparently, according to Hallmark's official wedding anniversary website, Chinese take-out from Jade Palace would have fulfilled that particular anniversary celebration. I could have served it on my cousin's crystal serving dish. I wonder what our fortune cookies would have said?
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| Oven mits received at my bridal shower. Yeah, she is missing a nose but after 19 years who hasn't lost a thing or two? |
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