A Chest to Treasure

I've been meaning to share about a very special and unique item Matt and I acquired last year. It is this stunningly-handsome chest, which Matt purchased in Afghanistan:

During Matt's deployment, we were having one of our daily online "chats" {Matt being in Afghanistan and myself in Hungary}, when Matt mentioned that he found a beautiful chest that he really liked and wanted. He said he was pretty sure I'd like it, too, and that he thought it could one day become a special family heirloom. I remember Matt trying to describe it to me, and he mentioned that it reminded him a lot of the chest belonging to Mel Gibson's character in the film "The Patriot." This got me really excited and I couldn't wait to see it in person.

How did this chest get from Afghanistan to the good 'ole USA, you might ask? Well, Matt mailed it. That's right. There was a US Post office on base where Matt was located in Afghanistan and he purchased a very BIG, metal box to mail it in. And it only cost about $32 to mail this extremely heavy chest all that way!

Matt actually mailed it to his parents' home in a very small, rural town in Michigan. Apparently when it arrived at the post office there, Matt's dad got a phone call asking him to come down to the post office to pick up a large, unusual shipment from Afghanistan. Dave said when he got to the post office, the postal workers were all curious, wondering what could be in the big, heavy, metal box.

The metal box had been dented a bit, but thankfully the chest made it without sustaining any damage at all! I opened the metal box at Matt's parents' house before Matt got back from Afghanistan {which he ok'd me to do}. I fell madly in love with it the instant I saw it. I had no idea it would be so big and so incredibly beautiful!

I adore all the intricate details:



The inside is lined with red velvet. There's a tray at the top when the chest is opened, which lifts out easily to reveal the main storage space below it. There are also two little drawers on the front of the chest to hold small items.



We now proudly display our chest in the living room of our apartment. I am infinitely grateful that Matt came across this chest in Afghanistan and purchased it for our home. We both hope it will be a special item that will remain in our family for generations to come.

I can picture it now: A guest comes to the home of one of our future descendants. The guest notices the handsome chest and comments, "Wow, that's a really cool chest." Our family member replies, "Oh, yeah. That chest was brought back by my Great-Great Grandpa Perry when he served in the war in Afghanistan."

Our chest has already brought us so much joy, but it is when we think about this chest as a future Perry family treasure that we truly feel our hearts fill with gladness. It is a very special item, indeed.