What do YOU do with all those memories?

Note: This is another blog post my mother wrote, this time in 2007. Now I know where my deep affection for memories and things of sentimental value have suddenly come from!

I'm finding it fascinating that as I read through some of these old posts, all of which can still be accessed online, I am facing some of the same thoughts and issues my mom encountered. These are the things that make me feel closer to her, but also to realize that not all about aging is a bad thing. There's a lot to be said for wisdom and for gathering one's priorities into their rightful places. 

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http://childresshighschool-classof1963.blogspot.com/2007/08/grandmas-attic.html

AUGUST 31, 2007

Grandma’s Attic

Today I took advantage of a cool morning to do something that I had been putting off. Some time ago I created memory boxes for each member of our family. In the girls boxes, I put special toys such as Jami’s Toddie Bear, (JAMI: OMG, HOW I ADORED TODDIE BEAR!) Kim’s Kiddles, newspaper clippings, knick knacks, pictures, Barbies and other items only they could love and hopefully treasure. 

I did the same for Jim and for me. I knew that those boxes contained long forgotten items from our high school days in Childress including our annuals. These boxes are stored in the attic and can only be accessed when the temperature allows us to, so we always plan our trips up to that dreaded area when it is cool. 

(JAMI: All of the attic items were moved to a storage unit last year. I'm itching to get to those memory boxes.)

Even though I put most of the items in our boxes myself, I am still amazed and surprised when I open them up and see what is there. Each item invokes a whole new trip down memory lane. There are pictures of Jim playing basketball along with yellowed and tattered newspaper clippings from his bulletin board that hung in his old Childress bedroom forever. Programs from past banquets and plays, all of my Trixie Belden and Bobbsey Twins books, my kindergarten work and the list goes on. 

(JAMI: Somewhere, maybe in a comment, my mom said she regretted that we didn't love her books the way she did. I beg to differ. MOM, that I read ALL those Bobbsey Twin books and loved them ... and I WANT them!)

Had I been a better person, I might have organized all of these items into carefully labeled acid free scrapbooks, but that never happened, the task having fallen victim to lack of time and other priorities. 

(JAMI: Give me time, Mom, this is my new goal.)

Now the task of preserving the past has grown even more daunting. Filling my attic, along with 16 containers of Christmas decorations and 14 more of Fall/Halloween decorations, are the boxes filled with the relics representing the pasts of our mothers and fathers and even grandparents. You know what I mean — labeled and unlabeled pictures back to the 1800's, report cards, letters, enough memorabilia from Jim’s Dad’s one year at Maryville College to convince us that his partying took precedence over studying, military items, and other “stuff.” These are the kind of things that grab our hearts each time we try to get rid of them and pile on guilt trips that cause us to close the boxes and vow to try again another time. 

(JAMI: OK, I'll make all of this my new "job," even though I won't make a living from it.)

The questions today are these:

What does one do with the items from the past that no longer have value beyond the sentimental? What is our responsibility in preserving the past of our families? Of course, we want to remember our families from the past, but what is the best way to do this? What would our parents say to us today if they could about these items? How would they want them handled and passed on? Do we close our eyes and the lids on the boxes and leave it all there for OUR children to deal with as our parents have done for us?

(JAMI: I'll do it; I know this is why God has put this exact desire in my heart the last few months.)

I know that Jim and I are not alone. This seems to be a common problem for many of us at this time in our lives. I would love to know how you, my former classmates of '63, have dealt with these issues. Talk to me!

For today, I am dusting myself off, closing the attic door, and perhaps I'll read a good book!

Nicki