My mother and father-in-law had us over for dinner last night. Dinner was great, but the surprise they had waiting for us is the reason I decided to blog about it. As I’ve mentioned on here, Duffy and I are pretty much starting from scratch. Our oldest is 18 now and our current youngest is 12. So, we pretty much need EVERYTHING. What my in-laws had in store for us was really, really sweet...
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| These are my in-laws, Grandma and Grandpa Jersey. |
Grandma Jersey had been telling us for a few days that she and Grandpa Jersey wanted to have us over for dinner, but it had to wait for a few days. She said that they were “making something” for us and, when it was finished, they wanted to give it to us. We decided that last night would be a good night to get together, so we went over there after work. When we arrived, they let Duffy and me in first. As I walked into her living room, I saw this really adorable bassinet. It was the cutest thing. She had made it up real nice with super-soft pillows and satin blankets and little pastel-yellow ducks.
As we went to look it over, we noticed that inside was a note about the bassinet. Apparently this bassinet is 83 years old and has been passed down through Duffy’s family. His grandfather slept in it as an infant. Some of his aunts and uncles slept in it. He has nephews and nieces that have slept in it. The kicker is, even Duffy slept in it as a baby! How sweet is that? Here is what the letter said:
The Bassinet
This little bassinet has quite a history. In 1929 Lillian Haight went to Sears & Roebucks and purchased it for $7.99. She gave birth to her first son on February 27, 1929 and named him Robert Harold Haight. He slept in this bassinet. A couple of years later she gave birth to Kenneth. He slept in this bassinet.
In 1954 Robert married Marilou who already had two children Patty and Brad. They were past infancy so they could not sleep in the bassinet but when their brother Gary was born and when their sister Gail was born they each slept in this bassinet as newborns.
In the interim Kenneth married and had four children who all slept in this bassinet as newborns.
When Patty was pregnant with her first son Daniel she lived in Illinois so she wasn’t able to get the bassinet. When her next two sons were born in New Jersey, this bassinet came to her and Thomas and Duffy slept in this bassinet as newborns.
When Kenneth’s kids had kids they used this bassinet for their newborns. When Gail had her three children and Gary had Amber they all slept in this bassinet as newborns.
When Danny had Rebecca she slept in this bassinet as a new born. When Gail’s daughter had her son he slept in this bassinet. When Kenneth’s children had children some of them slept in this bassinet.
This little bassinet has been in our family for 83 years! It has been repainted many times. The screws have been changed over and over. In 2000 I had a new coverlet made for it so it would be nice and fresh for Rebecca.
Now I am so proud to pass this to Duffy and Klisty so their little one can sleep in the same little bassinet its GREAT GRANDFATHER and DADDY slept in as a baby.
This is a family owned bassinet and when the next family member has a baby it will be our duty to pass it on to them, probably Greg and his new wife Victoria.
This bassinet has so many memories and so much love attached to it. Enjoy it and all its history!
Love,
Mom & Bob
I had been stressing about where the baby would sleep for the first month. I knew that I wanted it in the room with us, but I didn’t want it to sleep in our bed. This bassinet will be perfect to put in our room. What a neat gift; something with so much family history that our little Peneloppy gets to be a part of. The only caveat is that when we are finished with it, we have to pass it on to the next family member that has a baby. Now I can’t wait to see little Peneloppy in it!
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| Look how cute this is! Oh, and I'm trying out Instagram (lol). |
