Mom's Gift

A shared passion brings mother and daughter even closer together

- Deb Sandau

My mom, Joan Vladicka, was an avid antique lover. She loved items she found that had a back story, though, truth be told, Mom made up many of those stories herself—it was part of the fun! My fascination with amber glass began with a butter dish my mom received from my paternal grandmother, who we simply called “Granny.” The dish was shaped like a hen sitting on a nest. You lifted the lid to get to the butter and, as a child, I would carefully sneak it from the shelf to look at it. I would put it on the windowsill and watch the warm colours splash across the wall, and move it around to see what new patterns I could create. Mom would tell me that when I was 18, I would get the butter dish for my home. I actually had to wait until I was 32 before she would let it go, but it was a magical day for me when she gave it to me. Driving home with my husband, I told him all the stories that Mom and I had come up with for this little piece of glass. It really is one of the most-prized things I ever received from her.