Five Drawers and a Door

I have this thing about furniture.

Especially old furniture.

I like to go “antiquing” and usually when I find a piece of furniture that I REALLY like, I know it pretty instantly. It was this way with the piece I bought for our bedroom during this last Summer.

And it was this way with the piece that has now been in all of my baby’s rooms.

When I found it I was not pregnant. Far from it actually. But I knew that it would make a good “nursery” item someday. Yep, total baby room potential.

It’s first use was in our dining area for things like liquor and the drawers stored table cloths and cloth napkins and napkin rings (you know, things I no longer use…).

But since the early Spring of 2004 it has held baby “onesies” and sleepers and tiny baby socks and pants. And beautiful outfits that were given as gifts. And hand-woven and sewn blankets.

I have adored this piece of furniture since I first laid eyes on it in the antique shop not too far from our first apartment as a married couple.

Tonight, as we played in my baby girl’s room, I thought about how many different clothes have been rotated in and out of its five drawers and one door and how they started out green and yellow, then went to blue and now, primarily pink and lavender.

I thought about the how many times I’ve reached into one of its drawers for a sleeper that smelled of one of my babies or a newly cleaned crib sheet for them to lay their sweet baby heads upon.

I thought of how the bottom drawer sticks and how the boys used to play together in the section with the door and even kinda fit in it together. And how many games of “peek a boo” we’ve played with that door. Oh how many.

I know that as my children continue to grow its purpose will probably change again. But it’s had (and still having) a good run as the baby room furniture I first envisioned it to be.

And I’m guessing that no matter where it does end up in our home I will always keep a tiny pair of baby socks in the top drawer.

You know, just for “old times sake”.