So I was dusting the hallway cabinet last week when I found a little handwritten note tucked behind the drawer. I hadn’t seen it before. It just said:
“Save the glass. One day you’ll know why.”
My grandma passed away the week after Easter, four years ago. And ever since, April’s felt… tender.
She was the kind of woman who believed in celebration for no reason — who’d put on perfume just to water her tulips and set out tea cups even when no one was visiting. Her favorite things weren’t expensive, they were just sparkly. Cut glass, vintage bowls, candlelight bouncing off mirrors — she said light made a house feel alive.
When we cleared her home, no one wanted her old glassware. Too mismatched. Too fragile. Too “dated.”
But I packed every piece.
I had no idea what I’d do with them, but I couldn’t let them go. They felt like her. And apparently, she knew I’d feel that way.
So this month, on a random quiet morning — no big reason, just April being April — I started stacking the bowls. Flipping them, rotating them, balancing little plates and trinket dishes like I was building a memory tower. I didn’t stop until it looked like… this.
A crystal tree.
Not for Christmas. Not for any holiday. Just a tree that catches the morning sun in all the ways she used to.
The base? I found it on Tedooo. A seller who restores antique lamp stands and had listed this one as a “lost cause.” I messaged her, told her what I was doing. She said, “If it’s for someone you love, it’s never a lost cause.” Shipped it to me the next day. I listed a similar version of this on my shop on the Tedooo app, just to see if someone else might want one. Within an hour, I had four messages from people saying this reminded them of their someone.
And that’s when I realized…
This isn’t a tree.
It’s a legacy.
It’s what it looks like when grief turns into grace.
When April hurts but you honor it anyway.
It’s a reminder that the people we love don’t fade — they shimmer in the corners we keep them.
And sometimes, if we’re lucky, they still find ways to light up the room.
✨
