Main Entry: re·mem·brance
Pronunciation: \ri-ˈmem-brən(t)s also -bə-rən(t)s\
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 : the state of bearing in mind
2 a : the ability to remember : memory b : the period over which one's memory extends
3 : an act of recalling to mind
4 : a memory of a person, thing, or event
5 a : something that serves to keep in or bring to mind : reminder b : commemoration, memorial c : a greeting or gift recalling or expressing friendship or affection
synonyms see memory (Merriam-Webster's On-line Dictionary.)

I was engaged in the business of polishing my grandmother's silver tonight as my first step toward getting ready for Thanksgiving.    The service is silver-plate, and in remarkably good condition for silverplated tableware of it's age, a testament to the care she took of it and a reflection of her values that you take care of what you have and make it last. It was used only on the most special family occasions, to mark how meaningful both the occasion and the gathering of all the family were. That is also the only time I use it.

I began the work as simply a chore that needed done that I could go ahead and get out of the way. About halfway through the job my back was starting to hurt a little from standing over the sink, and I was getting more bored by the second.   Suddenly I thought of the countless times my grandmother must have stood at her sink before a holiday meal over the course of 50 or more years, doing exactly what I was doing. It almost seemed I could feel her as my fingers rubbed over the same curves and planes her fingers had polished so many times over the course of her life. Then I remembered watching my own mother do the same thing with her silver, and of the many times over the years I have helped her with the polishing in preparation for a Holiday meal.

With those memories, the work transformed from a chore into a ritual of remembrance and a reminder of continuity through generations. If we (and they) are lucky, Mom's infant great grand-daughter and perhaps a future grandchild of my own will one day be standing at a sink, polishing silver handed down from two generations past, and experience something very similar to what I experienced tonight.