Going through family memorabilia with my dad today before he sells my parents’ house. I feel lucky to be going through it while my parents are still alive. It was pretty cool finding the baby book my mother kept for me when I was born. She was amazing at keeping records from my first tooth to first step to first lock of hair.
She kept my bracelets, got autographs from the nurse and doctor and kept her special dinner menu — she had filet mignon and she even kept the red plastic stick they put in it (she likes her beef rare)!
I am looking forward to scanning some of the mementos. There was just so much history, and I realized it’s much bigger than me or any individual, it’s all of us. And it’s not about the house or even the stuff but the memories inside of us that they trigger when we search — my father’s collar stays, a photograph of him with his five brothers, his film from Vietnam, my mother’s yearbook and boxes of cards, letters and more from my sisters and me. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be — and it’s pretty easy to figure out the stuff that matters and what to let go of.
