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You have hit the nail on the head. I'm starting to think that the women posting on this thread and several other related threads have so much in common, we must be sisters in spirit. In the attic I have had to confront the photos of one of my children who died many years ago in infancy. OMG, I hardly made it down. But it felt good after all the tears. A friend is going to take some things away to a special place for me.
Blessings to you in dealing with the loss. It must be very hard to relive all that again. That's a good friend you have there.
NewEnglandGirl,
So sorry to learn of your loss of long ago. The pain of Something like that, I would think, never fully goes away, but gets tucked in the recesses of your heart. The tears come when you reexamine the memory, but hopefully the pain eases a little more each time.
And thanks for your kind message. I think God is, indeed,guiding this transition in my life, though I tend to get rather impatient at the length of time it's taking!
Best wishes to you!
artangel
MaryleeII,
You mentioned getting rid of old HS yearbooks........I'm still having trouble letting these go. Not only my own, but I now have my Mother's. Seems wrong to pitch my Mom's, but no one else wants it either. I always pictured my kids or grandkids looking at them and laughing at how funny grandma (me!)looked, but again, no one is really interested in them but me. I'm thinking of tearing some special pages out and pitching the rest. I met my former husband at age 15, so there are a lot of memories tied up with them, but *man!* those suckers are heavy!!!!
Wouldn't you know it......moving costs are based on weight, and what did I have the most of??? Books and pottery!
Thanks, staywarm and artsangel, for your kind words and good wishes. The attic really is a metaphor in some ways for parts of our lives where we "store things." Bringing them down into the daylight after many years is a way of healing and cleansing.
As for family albums, I've heard all kinds of suggestions including getting digital pics taken, etc. But who has time to photograph hundreds of photos and digitize them or can pay to have this done? Will any of our kids or grandkids care about great grandma in high school, etc? I keep picturing a little girl who is curious and sensitive who wants to know who her family really is. She is living in 2025. And we have thrown away all the memories she is longing for. OMG, better keep that year book!!
Thanks, staywarm and artsangel, for your kind words and good wishes. The attic really is a metaphor in some ways for parts of our lives where we "store things." Bringing them down into the daylight after many years is a way of healing and cleansing.
As for family albums, I've heard all kinds of suggestions including getting digital pics taken, etc. But who has time to photograph hundreds of photos and digitize them or can pay to have this done? Will any of our kids or grandkids care about great grandma in high school, etc? I keep picturing a little girl who is curious and sensitive who wants to know who her family really is. She is living in 2025. And we have thrown away all the memories she is longing for. OMG, better keep that year book!!
I have an elderly friend who wrote a book about his life, including some about his parents, and self published it in one of those plastic ring books. Not expensive, but so cute and I know his kids will keep it always. I'd like to do that some day and include some of the funny stories about us and our parents. including some photos. This is something small that could be passed down in the family. I've already made copies of what I have of the family tree and given them to the nephews.
I have an elderly friend who wrote a book about his life, including some about his parents, and self published it in one of those plastic ring books. Not expensive, but so cute and I know his kids will keep it always. I'd like to do that some day and include some of the funny stories about us and our parents. including some photos. This is something small that could be passed down in the family. I've already made copies of what I have of the family tree and given them to the nephews.
This is a great idea. My mom started doing this. Trouble is she self-censors so much. Many things that happened to relatives & how they behaved to the the stresses of lives, she won't write down. She might tell them to me but that is it. She also denies having said some of that when I try to verify it. It is these things that make for fascinating insight to ones ancestors & reveal how it really was back then. Most of her censoring is about people long dead & for stuff nobody bats an eye at now.
I'm getting more contact with my neices & nephews & am appalled at how little their father has told them about our childhood. I end up being the source of the family linkages for them. The answer is that yes, these kids are interested in their ancestors. Too many of pics are not identified so the next generations can't identify who the heck that person was.
It is a good thing to organize the family photos & identify them. If you digitize them, then they can be widely distributed & have less chance of complete loss.
I've moved a few times, each finding more stuff to lose. Goodwill is my friend, especially after hours. I'm currently considering a 55+ center and looking at the last of my collectibles... accumulated PC electronics and electrical and plumbing odds and ends that are becoming annoying. And a chain saw.
I do have a couple of shelves of collectible T-shirts but they have their own travel bag.
I've moved a few times, each finding more stuff to lose. Goodwill is my friend, especially after hours. I'm currently considering a 55+ center and looking at the last of my collectibles... accumulated PC electronics and electrical and plumbing odds and ends that are becoming annoying. And a chain saw.
I do have a couple of shelves of collectible T-shirts but they have their own travel bag.
You won't need a chain saw in a 55+ community LOL--but T-shirts in a travel bag, possibly Good luck with paring down
I just got rid of quite a few flower vases. I tend to hang on to the vases my daughter sends me flowers in.
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Book about Our Life
Good luck with paring down
