Family Treasures

My sister & I (with the youngest of our kids) flew to Florida on Thursday to visit my grandmother. Being 90 years old, she inevitably has health problems, but when compared to what they could be, she is relatively healthy. It recently became necessary to move her to an Assisted Living facility. Although she has not been living in her home for the past year or more, we have maintained her house, and have been slowly sorting through things. This weekend we did a little more.


It is like going on a treasure hunt, or traveling back through time. I learned things about my grandparents that I never knew. My Granny owns a fabulous collection of vintage hats - pillbox, fur, etc. My Grandpa wrote love letters on a regular basis during the early years of their relationship, using a unique "pet name" on each one - gal, partner, etc.

Necklace & Cameo from my Granny

We feel the need to sort through each and every item, because you never know what you will find. In a single box you might find a handful of old bank envelopes, reading glasses that haven't been used since 1960, a Mother's Day card from this year, a beautiful cameo pin, old family photos from the 1930's, and a handful of bobby pins. It is fun to sort through, but also overwhelming.

After sorting through things for 3 straight days, most people wouldn't be able to see that anything has been done. And this was not the first or second time this has been done. It made me step back and think about the things that come into our house, the items we choose to keep, and how things will be different in 40 years. How will my grandchildren read the sweet text messages that I receive from my husband? ("What can I do to make your day better/easier?" just came through. What a great man I have!) Will there be an old shoe box with camera flash cards for them to discover, filled with family pictures? While I love many aspects of today's technology, I wonder about the pro's and con's. It seems so much less personal when compared to the fabulous black and white photos we found in a handmade wooden chest.

Granny holding Eleanor

I managed to fit some goodies in my suitcase. Mainly little items for the kids. A book on minerals for Seth, some great items to go in our dress up clothes, a sweet pillow that belonged to my great grandmother that will will look great in Eleanor's room, and a fabulous pair of vintage pumps for me! My parents will be bringing up some larger items at Thanksgiving. We have a child's-sized rocker for Eleanor, a painting by my great-grandmother, my Granny's cast iron skillet (perfectly seasoned after 30 years of Saturday morning sausage or bacon!), some beautiful milk glass that I can't wait to display, and many more treasures that will be passed down for many more years to come.