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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.local..,uA..Writing a novel is a long process that sometimes feels like it will never end. I often need a short-term project to give me a sense of accomplishment. Knitting a sweater or afghan in the wintertime works well. But with temperatures near or above 100 for the last three weeks, I can’t even think of finishing the collar on a sweater I knitted this past spring. No worries, though. I’ve found a fun project that relates to a bit of local history.
Local History:
Half a mile from our house is the historic Stanford Chapel Cemetery. A chapel once occupied the front of the site. Around 1875, Rev. Thomas Stanford, a Methodist circuit rider moved his family here from Arkansas and established the church. His son-in-law later donated adjacent land for the cemetery. You can find Rev. Stanford’s grave there, along with the graves of his wife and other descendants.
The church consisted of a wood-frame building with a high steeple and several stained-glass windows. It served as a church and a school for the surrounding area. The congregation disbanded in 1912. The church itself burned to the ground in 1945. You can still find the brick outline of its foundation in the grass.
A Piece of Colored Glass:
The cemetery (which is still in use) provides a beautiful, quiet place for people from nearby neighborhoods to walk. I’d heard that sometimes bits of stained glass from the old church windows could be found. So, when I looked down on one of my walks and noticed a diamond-shaped piece of blue glass, I knew it had to be from the historic church. On subsequent walks through the property, I found more bits of glass. Soon I filled a couple of Mason jars with pieces of stained glass.
But what to do with them? Easy. A little clear craft glue, a square flower vase, a strand of fairy lights, and voila! I now have a sense of accomplishment as well as a bit of local history to enjoy as I work to finish my novel. Watch for details on that coming soon!
