The tea cups, the steaming pot, miniature plates, and undersized spoons used only to stir tea, all this, sitting in a cabinet in my house. To most people, this would just be an ordinary wedding gift, something that you look at every once in a while, but never touch. However, this is not the case for all of the girls in my family. The pink flowers on the porcelain white pieces of this China tea set in my cabinets are used throughout the year because of the meaning. They were passed down multiple generations, from my great-grandmother to my mom. We use them at tea parties throughout the years since most of our family consists of girls. There are always new decorations that we would get if it was someone’s birthday or a specific holiday, but what never changed was the China we used. It is a memory that every girl in our family gets to share because it was a massive part of our lives and still is. Continuing to have tea parties is something I know my great-grandma would miss, but I am sure she is grateful that we are continuing. There is a part of it that we all enjoy the most about having these tea parties. While many of it is the fantastic finger foods we make that are cut into cute shapes, our favorite part is being with each other. It brings us all closer and gives us time to step away from everything else to be happy in each other's presence. This China has so much value to my family that it is more than others might see as a dollar amount. The part of this that is important to my family and me is the memories it holds.

– Madison

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant