A Red Plate!
Lachlan lives in New York City. That’s a long way from Ogden, Utah, where his great grandmother, Carol Butterfield lived most of her life. And, Lachlan never met her. She passed away long before he was born. Yet, his mother personally knows her as Grandma B.
Grandma B had a close relationship with her grandchildren and she holds a special place in the hearts of my children. That’s because of her munificence. She allowed us to share her home for a couple of years while we planned and constructed our home in Erda, Utah. My kids were very young then and as a result she created a bond with them that lives deep in their hearts. I can see her impact, even now as all three of my girls have spouses and live far from their high desert homestead.
I saw her impact again this week as I received a photo of nearly-two-year-old Lachlan standing on his cooking stool, smoothing frosting on the birthday cake he and his mother were creating for his father. Birthday cakes are a common tradition. So, that’s not what caught my eye here. It was the red plate sitting under that being-prepared cake that merited a stuck-stare.
Grandma B had a red plate birthday celebration tradition. And, she taught my children this simple tradition. When we would sit together to celebrate a loved-one’s birthday she would pull out her special red birthday plate. It was a plate only used for this specific practice and it was placed in front of the person whose birthday we were celebrating. It set this person apart, allowing them to feel special. And, it worked!
Our children looked forward to having the red plate identify them as being special. They knew we were all celebrating their presence in our lives. They knew they were loved.
That love-bond expanded as our girls married and their Grandma B gifted a cherished red plate to them. They received the gift with anticipation and gratitude, knowing it was different from all other wedding gifts they would receive. It was a gift from the heart, requesting a continuation of the red plate tradition. An ask that they would use it to let their current and to-come-loved-ones taste everlasting love.
Lachlan was born in love and lives in New York City. That’s a long way from Ogden, Utah where his great grandmother, Carol Butterfield lived most of her life. And, Lachlan has never met her. She passed away long before he was born. Yet, his mother has passed Grandma B’s generation-spanning love to him. Lachlan knows of and participates in Grandma B’s red plate tradition.
Who would have thought that a simple red plate could play such a role in celebrating love and tie generations together?
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