Modern Hill Woman

Being a junker has taught me a lot about life and aging.

I once bought a vintage sugar mold on an online auction for $4. It was ugly. It had layers of blistered orange paint covering it, and I may have been the only one that even bid on it. I soaked and scraped off the layers and eventually was shown a valuable antique. Just because something or someone’s outer layer is rough doesn’t mean there’s not something beautiful underneath. Look beyond that rough outer layer.

There’s a Japanese art of repairing pottery called kintsugi. Instead of throwing away broken ceramic, or repairing it with regular glue, a special lacquer dusted with gold powder repairs the breaks. This method emphasizes each fracture, flaw, and crack instead of hiding or disguising them and makes the repaired piece even more beautiful than the original. Even if you’re broken, you can be repaired and be better and lovelier than ever.

I have dumpster dived or found “trash” curbside that to me were beauties, yet someone else had tossed them away. Your worth may go unnoticed by some, but others may see you as an absolute treasure.

Being old doesn’t mean you’re ready for the trash heap. Antiques increase in value with age as do humans. We live in a disposable society where older items and people are sometimes dismissed as having no relevance today, while other cultures treat older people with respect and value their wisdom. What stories our antique people could tell! Listen to their stories before they are gone.

It’s okay to look colorful and tacky as long as it makes you happy. I have a love of mid-century modern furniture and decor. Some people don’t appreciate the vivid colors and kitschy-ness. The avocado green, harvest gold, and orange colored items of my youth make me happy and remind me of simpler times.

I embrace chipped paint, blemishes, and dings on old furniture. I’m learning to embrace each wrinkle, scar, and ding on myself as I age. Each line has a story behind it and a history within it. Things and people don’t have to be perfect to be loved and valued.