A few years ago I posted about my experience of my sister and I cleaning out the family home after the deaths of our parents - our father in 2013 and mother in 2015 - and the importance of knowing the stories behind the many treasures tucked away in cupboards and drawers, or out in the shed.
Cleaning out the house, we came across treasures in every corner. A hand tinted photo of my mother as a child, a box of slides and negatives from early in our parents' marriage, a small garnet brooch that belonged to my great grandmother, a bronze alligator nutcracker made by my grandfather, and so much more.
Having already sorted the contents of the house, if was time to face the
shed. And not just any shed, but a SHED! 3 car garage with a workshop
the same size behind, with another smaller shed at the rear, our shed
is bigger than many a house.
Full to the brim with the accumulation of over 40 years in the same
house, packed even further when I moved home to care for our aging
parents, it was a substantial undertaking. Amidst all the junk -
unfinished knitting and sewing projects, chipped crockery, non-working
electrical appliances, old light fittings, etc - we found yet more treasures!
Baby cards received when each of us were born, old photos we had never
seen, travel journals kept by our mother on long-ago trips, letters
written by our father just before our parents' marriage, so many
things! An emotional journey, several times we found ourselves wishing
so much that our parents were still with us so we could ask all the
questions the items we found created for us. Why had this china cup
been kept? Whose was it and how long had it been in the family? There
were so many bits and pieces put away that we had no idea of the history
of, and so generally didn't keep. If my sister and I didn't know,
there was no one left to ask.
What items do you have tucked away in odd corners, rarely taken out and
dusted off?? When was the last time you had a sort-through of that
cupboard, closet or shed where you put all those things you never use
but cannot part with?? Do your children or grandchildren know the
stories behind those treasures you have stored away?? If they don't,
chances are they will dismiss those items as junk and they will be
lost. If your children don't know the story behind Great Aunt Mary's
tea set - or even that the tea set in the shed was Great Aunt Mary's and
not something you picked up on a whim at a jumble sale - then they will
have no reason to keep it, value it, and ultimately pass it - and its story - on to
another generation.
