Glory boxes
Heather’s friend Caz says I’m the only person she’s ever known to have had a glory box. We were discussing the whole concept a few days ago, when I suddenly remembered that I’d had one. It wasn’t really a formal thing, not a box per se, but rather some space on a shelf in the linen closet. Still, I was certainly introduced to the idea of the glory box at an early age.
It was all the fault of my maternal grandmother. I would’ve been maybe ten years old when she began to give me tea towels, sheets, and bath towels for birthdays and Christmases. I can actually remember feeling incredibly mystified and ripped off: What’s this crazy old woman giving me towels for? Doesn’t she know we have towels?
If it’s possible, I felt even more ripped off when I found out that not only had Grammy given me a stupid present, she’d given me a stupid present I wasn’t supposed to use until I was married. I think I probably just went with it, though, because she was all sorts of weird and kind of intimidating. I also knew she was really broke, and generally somewhat lax on the grandmotherly responsibility front. Part of me wonders whether she hit upon the glory box idea so she could buy all my presents at Coles when she went to buy her groceries. I can imagine her loading up the shopping trolley: ‘Aisle 8, creamed corn … aisle 9, double-bed sheets for the eleven-year-old. Perfect.’
I don’t actually know what happened to the linen my grandmother gave me. I must have left it behind for mum when I moved out, or else mum had started using it even earlier. I’ll have to ask her about all this when I ring her tomorrow. In my head, I think this whole glory box farce went on for a really long time, until I was in my teens. And then we didn’t really see my grandmother much. My brothers were much older, fully grown by that point. Gram’s mental and physical health deteriorated quite quickly, and she died a few years ago. I never really knew her as an adult. I wonder what she’d think about my marriage plans if she was still around. She never had much luck with men, so who knows? Maybe she’d be quite supportive.
Does anyone else in their late twenties or early thirties remember having a glory box? Am I an aberration (apart from in the obvious ways, I mean)?
It was all the fault of my maternal grandmother. I would’ve been maybe ten years old when she began to give me tea towels, sheets, and bath towels for birthdays and Christmases. I can actually remember feeling incredibly mystified and ripped off: What’s this crazy old woman giving me towels for? Doesn’t she know we have towels?
If it’s possible, I felt even more ripped off when I found out that not only had Grammy given me a stupid present, she’d given me a stupid present I wasn’t supposed to use until I was married. I think I probably just went with it, though, because she was all sorts of weird and kind of intimidating. I also knew she was really broke, and generally somewhat lax on the grandmotherly responsibility front. Part of me wonders whether she hit upon the glory box idea so she could buy all my presents at Coles when she went to buy her groceries. I can imagine her loading up the shopping trolley: ‘Aisle 8, creamed corn … aisle 9, double-bed sheets for the eleven-year-old. Perfect.’
I don’t actually know what happened to the linen my grandmother gave me. I must have left it behind for mum when I moved out, or else mum had started using it even earlier. I’ll have to ask her about all this when I ring her tomorrow. In my head, I think this whole glory box farce went on for a really long time, until I was in my teens. And then we didn’t really see my grandmother much. My brothers were much older, fully grown by that point. Gram’s mental and physical health deteriorated quite quickly, and she died a few years ago. I never really knew her as an adult. I wonder what she’d think about my marriage plans if she was still around. She never had much luck with men, so who knows? Maybe she’d be quite supportive.
Does anyone else in their late twenties or early thirties remember having a glory box? Am I an aberration (apart from in the obvious ways, I mean)?
posted by Michelle | 8:28 pm
4 Comments:
Hey Michelle! I had a glory bottom of the cupboard! I too can't remember what happened to all that tupperware. I certainly don't have it now...
I had a glory section-of-the-cupboard too, filled with china tea cups which my great grandmother used to give me every birthday. I was always so disappointed, and would have much rathered toys at the time!
Renae.
Heheh. Well, it's good to see that I'm not alone. By the way, Heather tells me that glory boxes are called 'hope chests' in the US. But she didn't actually have one.
I hate to say it, but here in the States, a 'Glory Box' is extremely close to the title for an anonymous sex establishment. Hope chests were often actually big trunks made of cedar and the like, where you put the linens until you were married. I have a chest, but never received the linens. Rather have the furniture, anyway. :)
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