Inherited stuff

Time in the Shade 2 BW 073120

I have reached the age where I have inherited stuff from two households. My parents and my in-laws all died within about 6 years of each other, the youngest of the four being my father-in-law at 89, but my husband also lost his two brothers, both before the age of 50. There’s some cool stuff. One brother-in-law left a group signed (vinyl) album by Aerosmith, and I have a Viking jersey that belonged to the other brother-in-law.

Those two items don’t take up much room,  but when my dad passed away in 2012, it was a much different story. He hated to throw anything out. Oh, his house was neat and clean, but the basement and the garage were crammed full of stuff he “might need” some day, or he had repaired 50 times - depression mentality there - so that was a bit more of a challenge. 

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My in-laws, on the other hand, had moved to a much smaller house than they had lived in for many years, so they had pared way down out of necessity. There were still a lot of items we brought home, but not nearly as much stuff as my dad left. I had to purge a bit of what I dragged out of my dad’s house just to make room for the smaller amount of “stuff” from my in-law’s house.

My dad enjoyed photography. I have a few of his older “classic” cameras that I intend
to keep and I’m hoping one of my kids will keep them when I’m gone. This collection includes a couple of Kodak brownies, one of which I used to take my first photo of a friend when I was five and my friend was three. I still have the photo. I sent her a copy of it on her 60th birthday.

I have a jar of buttons from mom’s sewing cabinet, the ceramic rooster she kept in the kitchen window in which she planted pansies every spring, her antique round mirror from her dresser and a an old sewing cabinet and steamer trunk that belonged to my grandmother. From my dad,  aside from the cameras, there are a couple of Chinese tea tins filled with Petoskey stones, (I should go through and polish a few of the better ones), some antique pocket watches, and my grandpa’s old violin, that I never heard him play. By the time I came along, my grandpa was profoundly deaf.

Grandpa's Violin 3

I have to admit, I pared way down from what I brought home originally. Basically saving things that meant something to me. I’m sure once we move on, we’re not concerned with the “stuff” any more, but it does bring back some good memories for the living.

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https://mary-bedy.pixels.com/
Bits of Grandma's Trunk 041222



Comments

  1. Dorothy Berry-LoundAugust 4, 2022 at 9:56 AM

    What a fabulous collection of old items packed full of memories! I had never heard of Petoskey stones and had to look it up. They look cool too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary BedyAugust 4, 2022 at 10:18 AM

      Thanks, Dorothy. Yes, Petoskey stones are really cool. I have several.

      Delete

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