The Snow White Beauty
By Mary Ann Villeneuve
I have had a beautiful, snow white object on the backseat of my car for three months. I do not have the courage to bring it into my house. Why, you may ask. Where did this object come from?
I had last seen this snow-white object, with lots of real silver trim, 40 years ago. It was made in Tipperary, Ireland and looks brand new. The designs on it are so, so beautiful!
Why so long? This was the teapot my mother brought with her when she came to Canada as a war bride after World War II. My mother, Kathleen Hoyne, arrived at Ellis Island and then by train to meet my father, a Canadian soldier In the Princess Louise Light Infantry, from Nova Scotia. My father had been a patient in an English hospital after he was wounded in Brussels.
Why a teapot? Being Irish, the visit of the parish priest to someone's home was an important yearly event. The priest could only be offered tea in the best China teapot and served in the matching fine China teacups. I never saw the priest stay long enough to enjoy a cup of tea.
Where was this beauty all these years? I had never heard my brother and sisters talk about it. Now here is this teapot after 40 years, in my car. This past summer my three sisters and I were looking at my brother's personal things that we each received. Sean had been a bachelor and there were the usual guy collectibles — ball caps, license plates, model car collections and would you believe, a very large coin collection.
In my box there were Irish souvenirs, and there at the bottom was something utterly gorgeous — pure white with real silver trim. It was the teapot Mom took out only when the priest visited once a year. My brother was very proud of his Irish heritage and must have had Mom's teapot all those years. He was a tradesman and an ordinary fellow…to have kept the teapot all these years was very special indeed.
Why am I hesitating to bring it into my house? I will tell you and hopefully not cry. My brother, Sean, went into the hospital for a routine heart procedure and unluckily caught a bacteria. All his sisters were with him for the 60 days he was in the hospital, where he received excellent care. I was there from Quebec and another sister from Ireland plus the two sisters who live in Halifax. My brother was the uniting factor in our family.
When I see the beautiful snow white teapot in my car I think of Sean and ask God…why? He has not given me answers, but this teapot may be his answer. What do you think? Tears are in my eyes.
