Embedded within the walls of our used baby furniture, are stories and dreams waiting to be experienced again. Most of us have something tucked away from childhood that we have kept all these years for reasons that are often personal and sentimental. Oftentimes, this precious heirloom gets put away in an attic, or crawl space, and it rarely gets taken out or dusted off.

Perhaps some of the most heartwarming memories from our past lie in our childhood. It wasn’t until recently, that I was reminded of how beautiful and powerful an object can be. It was my niece’s second birthday and she received used baby furniture from my best friend. She simply reached into her crawl space, dusted the gift off, and presented it to my niece. A gift from the heart, that didn’t cost a penny.

How could someone give used baby furniture as a baby gift you might ask? Well, I think it’s the term “secondhand” that oftentimes makes people scoff. However, the reality is that many used baby furniture items are in great condition and it’s the best way to get hold of name brand furnishings that you otherwise might not have been able to afford. In this particular instance, money was not a factor. My best friend could have gone to any local toy store and bought one of the hundreds of baby items to fill my niece’s room. Instead, she chose to bring the rocking-duck.

The rocking-duck is a piece of used baby furniture that has a story to tell. My best friend lived in a home where her parents were at all times taking in sick babies. They would nurture and care for these helpless infants until a loving family would come and adopt them. When I saw my best friend pull the rocking-duck out of her car, I was flooded with memories.

My best friend’s grandfather made this for her because like so many of the children her parents cared for, she too was adopted and it was her “welcoming” gift. Painted a pale yellow color with an orange bill, it had a leather seat belt that my best friend’s mom made from an old leather purse of hers. When her mom died suddenly a few years ago, this special baby item was packed away. This piece of used baby furniture seemed useless, until now.

This piece of used kids furniture carried with it memories of childhood, but more importantly a legacy of love. When my niece saw this special gift her eyes lit up. My sister looked at me a little puzzled, not really sure what to say. I looked at my best friend and smiled. I am sure that the rocking-duck will be around forever. It will go from one loving family to another and will sit patiently waiting for the next child to hop in and rock until their heart’s content.

More importantly, however, are the memories that are relived and the memories that are created all because my best friend went into her crawl space and pulled out her used baby furniture.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Toddlers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.