After Noni and Papa passed away I helped my mom and my aunt's go through their home...gathering up special things they wanted to keep and sorting through what they were willing to let go. It was a long process...months, in fact. But what would you expect of a home that was put together and added to for almost 70 years?
I ended up bringing home lots of treasures...some big things, some little things, and some things that I didn't realize were going to be as important to me as they are. And as I walk around my home I see these things. On the kitchen counter there are glass canisters full of beans and rice and a wooden cutting board (both of which I almost didn't even bring home) that I see each and every day.
In my hutch there is a little brown squirrel that makes me happy each time I look at it. There are other little reminders in the hutch, too...a beautiful tea cup and saucer, old kitchen utensils and a glass juicer, a small flour sifter and a little bread basket that Noni used often. And I can't forget the old spice tins that she wouldn't let me throw away when I was trying to be "helpful" one day. (Thank you, Noni...you were right, you did know best. ;)
Down the hall there is an oil painting and an old mold of some sort hanging on the walls...in my room there is a framed thread sampler on old cardboard...in Seth's room there is a large painting...in Ian's room one of Papa's canes, and one of his hats, even a few old tools he took as mementos.
As I look around my home I see Noni and Papa everywhere, every day. And it makes me happy...and yes, sometimes really, really sad...but always glad. And very grateful.
Yes, I know they are just things. But they are things that trigger thoughts of Noni and Papa and allow me to remember them every single day.
4 comments:
They say that we spend our adulthood buying back our childhood. I have things all around my house too from my Gramps. His fez, shelves and a clock he made, a Fred Flintstone cup, a sawdust stuffed winnie the pooh he bought me when I was 4, his favourite sweatter hangs in my closet, along with a shirt we had made for him. He is everywhere in this house.
i get this. I realized that things are more than things when I helped my mom and dad move a few months ago. things have stories. it changed my perspective for sure.
you don't have to explain it to me...just today i pulled out a candlestick that belonged to my grandma that she let dale and i use at our wedding. it's on my kitchen table now. put a candle in it and lit it at dinner tonight. i know it would make her smile.
love the canisters!
How sweet. I feel the same way. Our house has reminders of grandma at every turn. Im sad she is gone, but yet ~ I know she is right here with me.
Post a Comment