The Dresser

Scott and I were watching a movie last week – I think it was I’ll Follow You Down – when something caught my eye. I immediately asked Scott to rewind, and quickly snapped the above picture.

You see that mirror? You can’t really see the details, but I am 100% certain that it’s the exact same as mine. That might not be remarkable if it came from IKEA in the last couple of years, but this dresser is a fine piece of furniture and over 50 years old.

The funny thing is, it’s only been mine for about 3 months. It was my mother’s, probably long before I was born, and before that belonged to my paternal grandmother. When my father was preparing to move to a smaller apartment, he realized he wouldn’t have room for it, and I was happy to take it off his hands.

Bringing this one in meant letting go of my other dresser. It had been mine growing up, was passed on to my niece when I got married, and then returned to me a few years ago.

Although I was happy to have it as a memento of my childhood, it wasn’t in the best of shape. And that meant it wasn’t resellable, and probably not even donatable. I felt that my only option was to arrange for the movers to take it out to the curb for pickup when they delivered the “new” one.

Fortunately, one of the movers knew someone who had just got their own place and needed some furniture, and being able to pass my dresser on to someone who could use it just made the whole experience even better.

I really must thank Merv Can Move It Inc. for their part in this. They drove from Hamilton to Etobicoke, brought the dresser down the elevator, loaded it on the truck delivered it to my place in Hamilton, up the elevator and down a very long hallway, and removed the old dresser, for less than it would have cost me to rent a truck (assuming I could find people to help me with the heavy lifting!).

Have you ever seen something of yours in an unexpected place?