Over the past year, we have been able to procure some
“family heirlooms” from various family members. I’m not into collecting a bunch
of stuff because we have our own household of stuff, but when there’s some
little old something that holds a memory for me I want it!- because I want to
share it with my kids. A lot of my motivation for anything comes from wanting
to give my kids a good, healthy, magical, memorable childhood. And sharing a
piece of my own childhood with them adds to their’s. Sharing my own childhood
memories about anything with them connects us, sharing memories about
grandparents or other relatives gives them a sense of where they come from,
doing something new and special with them makes them feel special and over-all
it’s just a good, bonding time!
When my grandma passed away last summer the only things I
really wanted were her old storybooks and her plastic
McDonaldland plates. We
use the plates only when we eat pancakes (because eating pancakes was a fun
thing at Grandma’s house- she made them into any animal shape we requested) and
we keep her books put up and only read them every once in a while. It’s like a
visit to her house. Over the holidays, I got her jar of marbles and her old tin
Chinese checkers board that I remember my cousins and I playing with at her
house. I know my kids wont have very many memories with her in them- that’s
just how life works, but I love that I get to share with them the same things
that were shared with me as a kid. I feel like it connects the generations.
Before my oldest was born I asked my other grandma (yes, we
are blessed with lots of grandparents, but that’s another post) if she
remembered reading
“Wynken, Blynken and Nod” to me when I was little. She
couldn’t find her book, but found the exact same one at a flea market. I was so
excited! I loved reading that poem to my baby girl. I love that we can go to
her house and my kids can play with the same wooden blocks that my cousins and
I played with also.
I love being able to share these same things with my kids.
Now, these memories my not end up being as special to them. They may remember
other things and hold other memories dear. That’s okay! My kids may get
something completely different out of it. Either way, I’ve shared a little
family history with them. They know where they come from. I’ve shared a little
bit of me with them. They know what makes their mama tick. I’ve shared
something with them period. We’ve had a good time.
Of course, I’d rather these things be in my grandma’s house
with her there, too, but that’s not the way this world works. I know it’s all
just stuff, but it’s also a vehicle for bonding and learning. I love that I am
able to share so much with my kids because I was given great memories as child.
Now I can relive them. I like to watch the same old cartoons with my kids, eat
Jello out of fancy glasses, play the same made up games and of course, tell
stories that remind me and my kids that I used to be a kid, too.
I don’t want to leave out anyone who had a not-so-awesome
childhood or someone who can’t get a hold of those old family artifacts- even
if there is a type of gum you remember chewing or a cartoon you liked to watch,
find it on the internet or a flea market or at least something that reminds you
of the original. It’s fun for kids to think of their parents as being kids once
upon a time. I love being a kid again with my kids!
"Think not forever of yourselves, O Chiefs, nor of your own generation. Think of continuing generations of our families, think of our grandchildren and of those yet unborn, whose faces are coming from beneath the ground." -T.S. Eliot
