Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Pew

For years I have been looking for a pew to rescue or purchase.  I know they are popular to use as benches in decorating, but I've really wanted one for sentimental reasons.  You see, I am a pastor's daughter and.......well, I have grown up on pews.  The hard wooden kind with the scratchy woolen cushions!


You might be able to imagine the number of hours I have logged listening to the preaching of my precious dad on pews, but you have no idea all the fun that my three younger sisters and I have had playing on them.......and crawling under them.......and hiding between them.  We were at the church often and the pews in the sanctuary were a favorite place to entertain ourselves while our parents took care of things at the church.


When churches started filling their sanctuaries with chairs instead of pews, I realized I wanted to grab onto a piece of this past before they were all gone.  I know you can purchase new pews at Cracker Barrel and other places, but I really wanted one that had lived a real life.  

One day about a year ago when I was surfing Craigslist, I came across an entry from a small church who was gifting all of their pews to some needy organization or church.  While I am neither of those things, I couldn't help but say a little prayer and call to see if they might let me purchase or have just one of the pews.  All I can say is, "I hope I'm as good at talking transfer students into coming to the university where I work as I was in convincing that church to give this sentimental pastor's daughter a pew!" 


They were so kind and gracious and did allow me to have one - with one little catch:  

The pews were all 12 feet long!  
And we don't own a pick-up.  
And Edward was not going to solve my problem for me.  
And the church told me I had to pick it up.

Well, not being easily deterred when I had just found one of my all-time favorite treasures, I did what any good woman my age would do.......I called my daughter.  Why?  Because my Son-in-law is a very big guy with a very big heart.......and he has a nice big pick-up!  (I do not ask for many favors like this, so don't think too poorly of me.)


With a plan in place, I drove to the church to assist my SIL with the loading of the pew.  You can imagine my thoughts when I pulled up to the church and saw the pew already in the back of SIL’s truck - but with 6 feet of the pew still hanging out of the bed.

Ring Ring

"Um.......Baby Girl.......this is Mom.  Remember when I told you the pew was 12 feet long.......and I told you several times to be sure to tell SIL that information?  Did you, because I don’t think he realized it was going to be 12 feet long?"

Well, I won’t get into the details of where the communication disconnect happened - whether with me, Baby Girl or SIL, but obviously we had a problem and the pick-up was not going to work.

Luckily SIL’s father already had a big trailer attached to his truck, and they graciously picked up the pew and then delivered it to my home.  I have no doubt they think I’m insane, but they accommodated me anyway.


I don’t know if I will keep it 12 feet, but it actually fits nicely in our family work space and makes a great place to put books.  It’s not as antiquey as I would have liked, but the truth is - it is more like the pews I grew up on.  While 12 feet is pretty long, it sure would be adorable filled with grandchildren and what fun they will have playing on it!

Pillow from North Africa that looks great on the pew.

What about you?  What is something from your childhood you would love to find or keep around?  I'll bet there are some pretty fun memories out there!

Thanks for stopping by,

Ellie

8 comments:

  1. First off, miscommunication was SIL not listening to Baby Girl and secondly, you had better keep it 12 feet or else Baby Girl, SIL, and SIL's father will not be very happy! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Then Baby Girl and SIL need to make sure I have enough grandchildren to fill the 12 feet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your pew. It has always been my dream I have shared with my husband to renovate an old church one day and turn it into a home. I have let a number of pews go I have seen at sales because they were too plain for me and I wanted something more ornate but now I have seen yours with the cushions and books all lined up underneath I am regretting my decision because I guess it will be a while before I see another one! I will have to pin this pic and show my husband tonight - just as he was leaving for work I said to him - you know that spice rack I showed you, do we have any timber to make shelves? He did and said we need to get on and buy the brackets. So hunting some down very soon. Will send you a pic once ours is complete.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm a pew lover too. I had a 8' pew for many years that came from the church in my mama's home town. I really like how you displayed your books under the pew, great idea. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love how you placed the books under your pew. It's beautiful!! Searching for a pew of my own. Funny how they're either too long or too short. Hoping patience will pay off in the long run!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love your back story! I so want a pew! Fantastic idea with placing books under the pew! Found you via My Repurposed Life. Toodles, Kathryn http://thededicatedhouse.blogspot.com/2011/09/voice-studio.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. I spent many hours sitting in a pew also! It's great that you have one of your own now and it looks wonderful in your family room. Thank you for linking to the Open House party.
    xo,
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great find! :) I'm cleaning out my basement and it is filled with mementos from my daughter's childhood. I kept tons, because I have only a couple of items from my childhood. Because I kept so much, I expect that my daughter will keep very little. I suppose it skips a generation or something?
    gail

    ReplyDelete

I LOVE your ideas and comments. Thanks for taking the time :)