When I Broke my Mother’s Vase

College was a turbulent time in my life; I think a lot of people can agree that the early high school and early college years are among the most life-changing experiences. I believe the reason for this can be traced back to the fact that we are in a process of molding our character while building friendships and relationships with strangers. In an effort to speed up the socializing process, I decided to throw a small party in my house when I was a freshman in college. What I did not take into account was that most of my guests were definitely more seasoned than I was. I was always a late bloomer in high school and ‘’crazy drinking’’, substance abuse, and overall recklessness were never things I entertained.

When the guys started coming in, it was calm at first (almost adult-like) but once the alcohol kicked in and the more outgoing characters arrived, it’s like their inner ‘’beasts’’ were unleashed! Perhaps I am exaggerating a little bit but the worst things I had seen in those early 2000s teen movies were excessive drinking and some unholy activities in the bedroom. Thankfully the latter did not happen but the former did, and my mother’s ornament collection suffered the consequences (deeply).

My mother traveled to Africa and Europe after college to gain a better understanding of the world, to see new cultures and meet new people. As mementos, she brought back many souvenirs including shot glasses, vases, necklaces, earrings and much more. One of her favorite pieces was a horizontally striped black and white vase that had been a gift by a villager. She adored it; it was a beautiful decorative glass piece. Sadly, it was oval which made my friends think of it as a football worth tossing around. Unbeknownst to me, they proceeded to play with it right on my living room and sure enough after a few ‘’missed catches’’ the vase broke and I was left alone with the dreadful task of explaining the incident to my mom.

She was naturally livid, grounded me for what seemed like all eternity and demanded her piece fixed. I made some inquiries and found out there was a solution with a glass repair company in my area. I took it over to them, and they determined it could be fixed. To this day I still wonder what procedure they used which was clearly not just superglue but they returned it in pristine shape only showing slight marks of the previous wreckage. Thank Goodness and glass repair.