Why a Family should have a Museum in their Home

 

You save things. You put them away. You store them perhaps thinking may be one day it will get used again. However, that day does not come and the things are still in the box. What do you do? Throw them away? NO! Give them away? NO! What you should do is take the things out of the box, give them a fair assessment and then ask yourself if you should keep them? The answer is YES! And here is why: because something possessed you to keep them in the first place. Most likely a dusting of memories have settled also. Memories are important. Good, bad, happy sad, or just maybe funny. That is why a family should have a museum – to preserve those memories. To remember, pay respect to, learn from, and pass onto the next generation. After all, history is his and her stories.  

People ask me why I have a Family Museum. Well, why not. If celebrities, sports stars, famous authors, military hero’s and others can, well then so can I and so can you. Your family may have vintage clothing, rare baseball cards, first edition books, Purple Hearts, antiquities. Why did you keep these things? Where are they right now? What are you going to do with them? Answer: You should put them in Your Family Museum to preserve, protect, and to feel proud of your family and yourself for doing so.

Today’s families are on the go 24/7. Time passes quickly. Age is inevitable. Memories dull. Sometimes they can even get in the way of moving on. Nevertheless, you should not forget all the important and not so important events that shaped your life. This is why you should have a Family Museum – it makes you take notice of your history and gives special meaning to you and your family.

The picture above is one image of many from the Grandparents Museum from my father's side. The few things I was able to save are dear to me; a photograph of his family, Lithuanian custom pieces; a hand-painted Easter egg, clothing sash (Juosta), and amber beads. The coffee pot and iron horseshoe I have no idea from whence they came. Before my father passed away he told me a few stories about some of these things and I have passed them onto my children. And though stories (written and/or verbal) are great ways to keep a family history alive, it is even better when you can hold the object in your hand, feel the cloth, smell the coffee, try on the beads. This is what having a Family Museum is all about - enjoying at the same time preserving your family's memories.

“The Heart hath its own memory, like the mind, and in it are enshrined the precious keepsakes, into which is wrought the giver’s loving thought.”                                                                                                                                                                     Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Note:  Why did you kept that certain something? By doing so you may feel surprisingly proud you did, especially when you show others that you care.              You may even inspire them to do the same.

Next Post: Whose things belong in the Family Museum?