after being sick for the last 3 days with a flu-type of thing, i needed to do something to feel active and purposeful. it had been a long time since i had gone through my hope chest, filled with family heirlooms from my great grandma, grandma, and mom, so i decided to go for it. this ended up being such a wonderful experience, really a Christmas gift all of its own. i ended up snagging some clothes out of there that you will see often on the blog, i’m sure. today i snapped a photo of me wearing my grandpa’s red track shorts. i’ll enjoy wearing them 10x more now, knowing that my little great grandparents passed them down to me. it’s funny how i feel more identified after looking in this chest. even though it’s just jewelry, clothes, dishes, photos, and such, i feel like i understand a bit more of where i came from and whose name i am carrying on day to day. --sort of like the concept james fenimore cooper uses in his novel, the deerslayer, through judith and hetty hutter. they found their mother’s old chest having never met her, and the experience brought them closer to themselves, providing a better understanding of they were.
i hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas. this experience made my holiday season all the more bright.
as my favorite poet so wonderfully stated, “i am a part of all that i have met.” --tennyson
-t.
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4 comments:
Tori, I, too, found myself this Christmas season exploring the contents of a cedar chest....my mother's. After eleven years since her passing, I finally made my way through its contents so the chest could be delivered to my niece. In it I found baby shoes once sported by my sister and ones of my own...my first 'high tops'!!! There were yearbooks quickly passed over, however kept. My mother's wedding gown which my niece had made request for. There was the AVON box with my pink checkered and my sister's yellow checked baby blankets. The box, once shipped company product 42 years ago, could it have been a foreshadow of things to come....like Mary Kay boxes to my own front door? Which reminds me, I do need to place a product order for shipment! And then there were....PICTURES!!! Picures of me riding my first bike...yes, with training wheels! Flying a kite. Gardening with my dad! And pictures of birthdays with my grandmother. There were a few other items that neither my sister nor I cared to hang on to, but the memories generated....the items re-visited....as you have said, "A gift." Happy New Year, Tori!
Tori, I, too, found myself this Christmas season exploring the contents of a cedar chest....my mother's. After eleven years since her passing, I finally made my way through its contents so the chest could be delivered to my niece. In it I found baby shoes once sported by my sister and ones of my own...my first 'high tops'!!! There were yearbooks quickly passed over, however kept. My mother's wedding gown which my niece had made request of. There was the AVON box with my pink checkered and my sister's yellow checked baby blankets. The box, once shipped with company product 42 years ago, could it have been a foreshadow of things to come....like Mary Kay boxes to my own front door? Which reminds me, I do need to place a product order for shipment! And then there were....PICTURES!!! Picures of me riding my first bike...yes, with training wheels! Flying a kite. Gardening with my dad! Pictures of birthdays with my grandmother. And snapshots of my parents first home. There were a few other items that neither my sister nor I cared to hang on to, but the memories and thought generated....the items re-visited....may we be richer for the experience embraced! And it is as you have said, Tori, the time spent of exploration was itself "a gift"! Happy New Year, Tori!
Tori, I, too, found myself this Christmas season exploring the contents of a cedar chest....my mother's. After eleven years since her passing, I finally made my way through its contents so the chest could be delivered to my niece. In it I found baby shoes once sported by my sister and ones of my own...my first 'high tops'!!! There were yearbooks quickly passed over, however kept. My mother's wedding gown which my niece had made request of. There was the AVON box with my pink checkered and my sister's yellow checked baby blankets. The box, once shipped with company product 42 years ago, could it have been a foreshadow of things to come....like Mary Kay boxes to my own front door? Which reminds me, I do need to place a product order for shipment! And then there were....PICTURES!!! Picures of me riding my first bike...yes, with training wheels! Flying a kite. Gardening with my dad! Pictures of birthdays with my grandmother. And snapshots of my parents first home. There were a few other items that neither my sister nor I cared to hang on to, but the memories and thought generated....the items re-visited....may we be richer for the experience embraced! And it is as you have said, Tori, the time spent of exploration was itself "a gift"! Happy New Year, Tori!
this made my morning to read. richer indeed, my friend. :)
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