Boxes haunt both us of and every so often SB and I go through and try, oh we try, to get rid of the non-essentials.
And by non-essentials, I mean the faded to dull memories.
But the ticket stubs and silly trinkets remain. The diaries pile up (though I did successfully drop the teen books - NATCH! you can only imagine the fodder I would have for posts if I'd kept that particular drivel). Bottom line, I try not to get too attached to these memory keepers.
It's a losing battle.
Meet Horkey and my mid-twenties diary who did not have a name.
Horky the Donkey puppet (I didn't name him) belonged to all the children in my family but being the youngest, I kept him safe. He's missing an eye, wood shavings leak out of head and his coat is worn from years of companionship but he's still beautiful to me. He never ever let me down and holds many of my secrets.The diary from my twenties reminds me of many things. I am a compulsive ripper of magazines and newspapers. This is brimming with things I dreamed about at that time, lists of things I MUST DO, books I must read, movies I must enjoy. Some of those lists are near complete, some never attempted (sea kayaking - check! mountain drive across Canada, nope, make a quilt - not gonna happen anytime soon). I may show this to Bumper when she is older so maybe she won't think I was sooo square. Glimpses of her single mom might bond us closer together. Yes Bumper, mommy did have a life pre-baby, pre-marriage.
Now these are some other things that I keep close. These are tangible proof of previous generations. These are things of my grandmothers. The seal skin hat is from my maternal grandmother. She wore it all the time and it's one of the few things I remember about her - besides the chocolate covered digestives and Ryan's Hope. Many years later after she passed, my aunt asked me what I remembered about her and I mentioned the hat. A few weeks later this hat arrived in the mail. This aunt and I were never particularly close but the gesture brought us to another level.The two spectacular purses belonged to my other Nanny. I found them in a drawer in one of her bedrooms when I was teen and asked her about them. She laughed, didn't give much detail and gave them to me. If you knew her, you'd think these purses weren't her "style" but after learning the most about her at her 90th birthday roast thrown by her small town, I realized there is so much more to that woman than I will ever, ever know. These purses will remind me of that each time Bumper and I try to find a common ground.
Remember Bumper - I was a baby, girl, teen, and woman before I added mother to the resume.
This post is part of Sweetney and Her Bad Mother's Friday Flashback/Friday Foto Frenzy combo - "a photo-centric post that may or may not involve a flashback (although bonus points are awarded for keeping it flashback-y.) The topic: "My Favorite Thing," or "These Are A Few Of... etc" (in case you have more than one.) Self-explanatory: what object (or objects) in your home (note: NOT child, pet or partner) is your favorite thing, the thing that you would be most likely to grab first in a fire, the thing that you gaze upon and murmur, lovingly, MINE? Bonus points if it's something from your youth or childhood."
Other flashback (constantly updated - as in: where is yours?)
Girl's Gone Child
Sweetney
Mrs. Flinger
whoorl
Oh, The Joy
IzzyMom
Her Bad Mother
Breed Em And Weep
Mamalogues
Leave me a comment and link if you join in pleaseandthankyouverymuch so I can you to da list.
Part 2 of my answers to your kick-as* questions continues next week.
15 comments:
Oh, sweet friend, this made me TEAR UP LIKE CRAZY. And I haven't even had my coffee.
I miss my grandma. And my Horkey. *sob*
FAB purses. I have one nice one from a stylish great-grandma, too. It's so nice to have a few tiny bits.
I'm a terrible pack rat. My husband hates it. It's a sickness.
Do you display your treasures somewhere in your house?
I love reading my old diaries. I wish I had written more. I can't believe the things I use to worry about. Probably as ridiculous as the things I worry about now.
Heather: I keep them under my bed in a safe spot. Maybe someday when I own a home, I will give them the proper respect, yo.
Those are awesome purses. And memories.
Awesome. I've been watching too much Yo Gabba Gabba.
I love that you chose things from your pre-Mama days. I think my first instinct would be to pick some child-related memento and this is so much more interesting!
Just love that you kept your diary from that phase of your life. And the puppet? The fact that you've still got it even when its been played with and "loved" until its missing an eye? Is so very sweet. Beyond sweet, really.
My mom collected purses like those ones and she had an entire wall in the hall that she devoted to them. It was awesome.
I went through a massive purge of things from my ceaderchest last weekend. Don't know why I kept newsclippings about the death of Diana, MacLean's magazines from the 80's of flowers from past boyfriends for so long. Call me a packrat. Found some diaries and letters from mt tween and teen years -very funny. Won't part with them yet
I LOVE your gramma's purses.
My 17 yo daughter found my diaries from high school through about 25 years old. She will have the upper hand for the rest of our lives. Some things should be thrown out, or WELL hidden.
We must be related. My mother has inherited (and now maintains) the family "museum" from my grandmother, who kept EVERYTHING. I told her flat out that unless the Smithsonian is on the phone immediately after she dies, all the stuff is going in the trash.
Isn't filial love beautiful?
That being said, I will never give up my pooh bear and a few metric tons of my own precious stuff.
I love your line about finding common ground. The bags are just killer.
and the journals? I feel you. I had to lend a recent out this week for a photo shoot (nothing too personal in there, just idea starters) and I was twitchy the entire time.
It is strange to think that people didn't always fit in to the small compartment that we've placed them in.
I am going to sneak into your house and steal that peacock purse. I'll leave a bottle of tequila in it's place though because i'm not a monster.
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