This is my grandma's iced tea pitcher. It's been a mainstay in her fridge my entire life. In fact, I can't remember a time when I visited her that this pitcher wasn't part of the equation. It isn't fancy or even particularly beautiful but it does the job perfectly and I can't imagine drinking sweet tea at her house from any other vessel.
In a world where perfectly usable objects are increasingly passed over for newer, brighter, shinier models, I take an inordinate amount of satisfaction in the fact that this pitcher is still in the rotation. Actually, this pitcher is the only one in the rotation because I don't think my grandma has a spare. But she doesn't need a spare because this one works just fine. And were it to break (God forbid), she could get another one.
I look around my own home and see excess. I'm not fussing on myself (or you) but there's a certain lightness that comes from not having seven of the same bowl (I wouldn't know, but I can imagine). If anything, I want to be reminded that having just enough is not a bad thing. It seems that somewhere along the way we got the idea that having enough was good, but having more than enough was much better. With this mindset, it's impossible to ever have enough because it will keep us striving for something just out of reach. Who knew such deep thoughts could come forth from a simple photo of iced tea?
Did your grandma or mom have something in her kitchen that stood the test of time? I'd love to hear your story!