I have very recently been going through a similar situation. My mother passed away a couple of months ago and going through the items has been quite the daunting task. There's a weight of responsibility that I wasn't necessarily prepared for. My mother took it upon herself to curate our "family history" in a rather unorganized manner. Spending hours upon hours sifting through items, sometimes it feels easier if you were to just toss it all because then you wouldn't have known if existed in the first place. I found that the most painful piece was uncovering items (especially pictures) that were kept for some unknown reason. Unfortunately I do not know the story behind the handmade set of doilies in this hope chest nor who these people were in the pictures from a 1970s wedding. Worst of all I look up and I no longer have anyone to ask. On the bright side, there are also items I wasn't prepared to uncover that I would now consider family treasures. My own 2nd grade review about my brother's acting debut as Santa Claus in the 5th grade Christmas play comes to mind.
I just hope that I can find a manner by which to pass these memories (and the memories in my own boxes) on to my own children before we get distracted by the tidal wave of modern life.
I'm so glad it resonated with you. I don't think that any situation is like any other, but there are common threads. And the "weight of responsibility you mention" is definitely one of those threads. Even those of us (myself included) who welcome this challenge are struggling with that weight. The "I no longer have anyone to ask" part is also always melancholy to me. Knowledge, and stories, lost to time. I hope you find ways to pass the memories, even if it's beyond your children and within your community. The stories matter.
This is awesome Mr.A. "In such moments, magic lurks." poignant and profound. The stuff that life is made of. The small bolt label reminded me of a television series about a teacher Mr.Novak. In one episode a student read an essay in class describing the loss of her grandfather and finding in his attic a box of string labelled; "Pieces Too Small To Save." Magic indeed!
Thank you dearly for this story.
I have very recently been going through a similar situation. My mother passed away a couple of months ago and going through the items has been quite the daunting task. There's a weight of responsibility that I wasn't necessarily prepared for. My mother took it upon herself to curate our "family history" in a rather unorganized manner. Spending hours upon hours sifting through items, sometimes it feels easier if you were to just toss it all because then you wouldn't have known if existed in the first place. I found that the most painful piece was uncovering items (especially pictures) that were kept for some unknown reason. Unfortunately I do not know the story behind the handmade set of doilies in this hope chest nor who these people were in the pictures from a 1970s wedding. Worst of all I look up and I no longer have anyone to ask. On the bright side, there are also items I wasn't prepared to uncover that I would now consider family treasures. My own 2nd grade review about my brother's acting debut as Santa Claus in the 5th grade Christmas play comes to mind.
I just hope that I can find a manner by which to pass these memories (and the memories in my own boxes) on to my own children before we get distracted by the tidal wave of modern life.
I'm so glad it resonated with you. I don't think that any situation is like any other, but there are common threads. And the "weight of responsibility you mention" is definitely one of those threads. Even those of us (myself included) who welcome this challenge are struggling with that weight. The "I no longer have anyone to ask" part is also always melancholy to me. Knowledge, and stories, lost to time. I hope you find ways to pass the memories, even if it's beyond your children and within your community. The stories matter.
This is awesome Mr.A. "In such moments, magic lurks." poignant and profound. The stuff that life is made of. The small bolt label reminded me of a television series about a teacher Mr.Novak. In one episode a student read an essay in class describing the loss of her grandfather and finding in his attic a box of string labelled; "Pieces Too Small To Save." Magic indeed!
I'm glad you see it! The whole point of this writing exercise of mine could also be titled, "Pieces Too Small to Save," I think. Thank you.