Last week my sister-in-law passed away. My mother and I drove about 9 hours to support my brother and attend the funeral. It was sad, but also a time to reflect. I had to ask myself if I was putting the important things first or just jumping from here to there trying to get things done. Were my affairs in order so my family could walk in and know what was going on in my life? My brother admitted that he had never paid a bill his entire married life, had no idea how much money was in the checking or savings account and was at loss to what he needed to do next. It was sad as my niece brought out hand made articles to see if anyone recognized them and could they tell her who had made them. One item that was brought out was a hand appliqued baby quilt that no one knew anything about. It made me sad that someone had spent so much time on something and forgot to acknowledge their own work by putting their name on it. We all have special treasures in our lives that need to be identified so that they will mean something to someone else in the family. My box of Pendleton shirts that I haven't been able to cut up and make a quilt with or the story of the china set that my parents gave me for Christmas a few years ago. I too need to write things down so that these objects remain special and not become just another box of dishes, shirts or a baby quilt with no name.
My condolences for your loss. You bring up aspects that I have not thought about before. It seems that whenever we have someone dear to us pass on we share the lessons of keeping loved ones close, telling those around us how much we love them, and truly appreciating our family. This lesson you share, however, is more down to Earth and more tangible. A song by G.E. Smith comes to mind, "Forgotten Songs" in which he asks, "Who'll tell the stories when I'm gone...forgotten songs". Who indeed will tell us the story of that set of tea cups, or that walking stick, or that lap quilt? As children our parents and grandparents tell us the stories, but we are only kids and the stories don't stick with us. When we are finally mature enough to want those stories, often it's too late. You bring up excellent advice - write down the stories, label the items, pass on the information. Thank you for this lesson.
ReplyDeleteMy condolences to you and your family as well. Your bring up an important lesson that I thought about this Thanksgiving while with family. My Grandma has given us grand kids many antique items from her past and has a story from each item. I really want to make sure I write down the story and keep it either in a memory book or with the item. I also want to begin writing down my own stories to one day share with my own kids. Thank you for being so inspirational Jo Lynn, you have already taught me so much throughout these past few weeks!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your loss Jolynn. {{HUGS}}
ReplyDeleteMy mother-in-law has been so good with that, putting notes in vases and on the back of furniture. She also started to write on the back on pictures and I have scanned quite a few of the older ones for her. So important, she's the only one that remembers who's who and she is almost 80.
Hope you got some rest during the long week-end girlfriend, take care ! <3