Drinking from a Jar
When I was a little girl, I noticed that my mom would often drink ice water or milk out of an upcycled jelly jar. One day, I asked her, “Mom, why do you use a jar instead of a drinking glass?” She told me that it was to remind her where she came from. She grew up very, very poor. She was 1 of 6 children. And her parents would use and reuse and reuse and hand down any and everything to save money and use their resources wisely. That meant that you did not buy drinking glasses but you would use upcycled jars from pickles or jelly or jams etc.
Many years later, as a middle-class working wife and mother, she did not want to forget those meager beginnings. She always wanted to be grateful for her current comforts by remembering the struggles God brought her through. And so she drank, on occasion, from a jelly jar.
I loved that story. It gave me an insight into her spirit. And all these many years later, it reminds me what a great mom she was to us. This is an example of two of her greatest lessons, (excuse the poor grammar) 1. “Remember where God brought you from.” and 2. “Be grateful everyday.”
As an adult, in remembrance of her, I occasionally drink from upcycled jars. My favorite is a large jar that once held spaghetti sauce. I’ve saved these jars for years. And sometimes, when we host a barbecue, EVERYONE gets lemonade in an upcycled jar. On those days, I feel my mom smiling from heaven.
Upcycling jars is not new, and my mom’s family didn’t invent this habit, so many people don’t think it unusual when I serve them in a jar. But every now and then, someone will ask why I use jars. Perhaps they see the look on my face as I serve them. Perhaps a hint of a smile, or smirk, comes across my face. At those times, I’m more than happy to tell them this story. And perhaps spark a similar memory for them.
I hope that you have fond memories like this with your family. And that you remember similar lessons from your childhood, like I do from mine, “Remember where God brought you from “, “Be grateful every day “.
Still,
Jai
