Stored lifetime memories

We have a lifetime of memories stored in our brains, but some of it becomes clouded through the years. While a lot of people have photographic memories of events, occurrences, vacations and special moments from as far back as early childhood, some of us don’t recall things precisely.

Being a photographer, I have captured some of my family’s most memorable faces and times. Most of us have photo albums from years gone by, but today the electronic era allows us to put it all in a digital format to be viewed on television sets, computers and so forth. But then there are those keepsakes, things that don’t fit in photo albums and take up a lot of space in the home, the attic, the garage and outbuildings.

I recently received boxes and boxes of my late parents’ belongings, some of it passed down through several generations. Our family has divvied up most of the important items, having already requested when Mom and Dad were still alive so there would be no misunderstandings. That doesn’t always work in some families.

I looked at the boxes and began digging into one after the other searching for what I knew I really wanted to display in my home. There they were, items that once graced my parents’ living room; the framed medals from my uncle’s and cousin’s military days. The Purple Heart my cousin gave his life for in Vietnam, the numerous other medals he and his father earned in two branches of our armed forces, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

I kept digging into those old cardboard boxes until I found one item of particular value only to me. It was the heart-shaped jewelry box I hand crafted from walnut and maple woods back in the 1990s when I had a woodworking shop in my garage. This piece was created from blood, sweat, tears and love. It was hand-finished using fine sandpaper and a finish coating typically found on priceless, antique furniture.

Like some antiques become, it is priceless as far as I am concerned. There is no monetary value that could replace what it stands for. For me shopping in stores for gifts was never the way I could truly express myself. For my mother on that special Christmas occasion, it had to be uniquely from me.

The lid of the box is like a puzzle and slides on two round dowels that fit perfectly in two drilled horizontal holes. It’s a mystery to anyone who doesn’t know how it works. There are no hinges, just beautiful woods merging with vertical and horizontal laminates in a couple of places. The dark walnut top has a perfectly placed round hole that a photograph fits into from the bottom of the lid. A piece of clear plastic drops in, followed by the circular cut photo and a foam plug to hold it in place. This way the photo can be exchanged periodically.

In the mix of the menagerie of things I went though was an old wooden steamer trunk, finished to perfection by my mother. I probably helped her remove the warped, original tarpaper to get to that beautiful aged wood hidden for generations. I brought both pieces into the house and placed the heart box on top of the trunk in front of my sofa. The other keepsakes will go in the trunk, on walls or passed on to other family members.

While sitting waiting in the doctor’s office I read an article in a magazine about collecting or inheriting things that only mean value to us. Storing these items can be cumbersome, to say the least. It’s expensive to store in commercial units and, frankly, sometimes nobody really wants them. The author of the article said they found that photographing important keepsakes and putting those pitctures in albums or on discs for viewing periodically is a great way to save the memory of that item. How true! I guess I better get to clicking because there are still lots of things to go through in those cardboard boxes.

It’s sad that some items don’t have identifications, dates and so forth. Typically back when I handcrafted something I tried to remember to put my name and year it was made.

People don’t always mark something of sentimental value so those who come onto it later will know a little of its history. I am starting a collection of things, a simple list and plan to photograph as much “stuff” as possible. It’s a good wintertime challenge for those long evenings and well worth the effort if you are one of those who cherish family traditions and lifestyles.