The Stuff We Keep
Shortly after our parents passed away and we went through the process of disposing of their belongings, my husband and I watched many of our friends go through the experience. We’re at That Age. It’s never easy to sift through someone else’s lifetime collection of Stuff and decide what’s worth keeping, what should be trashed, and what someone else might find useful or interesting.
It didn’t take long to realize that most of our Stuff will have little or no meaning to our children. The expensive china and crystal place settings that every bride in my generation carefully chose? Not much use in this casual day and age. The piano we forced our kids to learn to play? Too heavy, takes up too much room, and who needs it in this era of digital music at the touch of a finger? The photos of grandparents and other relatives? Maybe…if they’re scanned and kept in a digital file, though it’s tough to write names on the back of a digital photo. And without names, the photos mean nothing.
The whole process inspired the idea for my WIP (work-in-progress) and has made me more aware of how much Stuff I keep…and buy. Will this be something my kids end up throwing away?
Three Kinds of Keepers
It has also made me think about what gives value or worth to the things we hold onto. Sometimes we keep something “just in case we might need it.” (Like the cardboardboxes in my utility room.) Other things we keep in the belief we’ll take the time to enjoy them when life settles down. (All those piano music books.) Still other things are kept forthe memories they hold.
I admit I’m a little of all , but primarily a memory keeper. The yellow pitcher that held Kool-Aid on hot summer days when I was growing up, even though it’s now cracked and useless.
The stuffed dog I received for my fifth birthday that comforted me throughout my youth.
The treadle sewing stand that belonged to my grandmother, even though it’s missing the sewing machine.
How about you? Are you a practical just-in-case keeper? A hopeful “maybe later” keeper? Or a sentimental memory keeper?
Leave a comment and let me know what gives worth to the things you keep.
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Dead Air: A Waco Mystery
One of 9 Finalists in the Directors’ Choice Contest
Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference
