during a recent visit, my father-in-law (or “pop-pop,” as the kids call him) picked up a mason jar that happened to be sitting on the counter, and was instantly transported to his childhood. he recalled that his family had used them as drinking glasses and went on to tell me a few tales from that time in his life.  isn’t it amazing how an object can do that?

in “call me old-fashioned,” i spoke about my affection for retro-feeling objects because i’m oh-so-charmed by nostalgia.  mason jars are no exception.  there’s something about this jar, whose original purpose was for preserving food, that evokes a sentimentality towards the “simpler” times of yesteryear.  by the way, it is not lost on me that these times were often quite arduous, and he spoke to some of that.  yet, when pop-pop twirled that jar around in his hand, i could tell it brought back fond memories and i could literally see him going thru a sort of mental time-travel.

the funny thing is, i’m not sure why that jar was even on the counter.  i’ve always been in possession of one or two mason jars.  i’ve bought them over the years for various projects.  in fact, at Christmas my daughters and i assembled mason jars containing the dry ingredients to make a delicious quick bread recipe for their teacher gifts. i’m certain this is the reason i had a few lying around.

but, i’ve actually never bought a set for drinking…until now! like i said, i’m a sucker for nostalgia and that moment with pop-pop was absolutely priceless. a few days later, i found myself in a craft store, picking them up, and at $1.29 each, they’re actually quite reasonable.

now every time i drink a glass of water, i’ll have a little smile, remembering a special moment

by the way, type in mason jar on pinterest and you will find so many interesting ways to use this little treasure, from baking to light fixtures! start by clicking here!