Dish Disease

We have a joke in our family that all girls inherit “dish disease” from the previous generation – meaning that they have a strong urge collect dishes, the urge is so strong it’s almost like its a disease. When my grandmother passed away, I think she had four sets of china, and probably just as many sets of everyday dishes. It appears my mother is on the same path, as she has her own growing collection of china and everyday dishes. And I’m pretty sure I’m following right along with the family plan since I have one set of china, (of course would LOVE another), and I currently have 16 place settings with my everyday dishes.

All of that is to say that it shouldn’t surprise you, when I say that when I just happened to be browsing Craigslist, and I just happened to find a listing for Metlox Daisy dishes, my mother’s favorite everyday pattern, I knew I would be buying some dishes this weekend. The listing was for 65 pieces at a very reasonable price. After conferring with Mom, she said to go ahead and pick them up. After talking with the owner of the dishes on the phone, I headed over to her house to pick up them up.

When I arrived, I met a sweet woman. She was packing up the last dishes so they would not break during transportation. I explained to her that I was picking up the dishes for my mother and that we were very excited to find them. And since my mother has used this pattern for as long as I can remember, she was looking forward to switching out some of the pieces that have been chipped or marred in some way. The woman was tickled that the dishes were going to someone who really liked them, as well as being pleased to receive a little pocket money.

As the woman and her husband started to help me load the dishes into my car, I began to explain the joke of the family – that the women have “dish disease”. I told her about my grandmother leaving four sets of china, and nearly the same number of every day sets when she passed away – the sweet woman looked at me and said, “Well, that sounds like just the right amount to me!”

Hmmm – maybe our “dish disease” isn’t genetic, after all…