Boxes in the
attic. Boxes in the basement. Boxes in the garage, in the shed, and under the
bed. Boxes with hastily scribbled writing on it that says “baby clothes.”
Another says, “Grandmas’ bric-a-brac.” The boxes from the attic may be filled
with old toys, games and comic books. You know what is in the boxes stored in
garage – tools! Grandpas’ greasy coffee cans filled with nuts and bolts, gizmos
you haven’t the slightest idea to what they are, but apparently they were
important enough to be kept. The boxes from the basement smell moldy and you
are not sure if you even want to open them. But you do and much to your
delight, you find your high school yearbooks. You sit down on the steps and
slowly turn the stiff pages and gaze down at the faces you knew and wonder
where they are now.
So whose
things belong in the family museum? Everyone’s things!
Look at it
this way. If you do not display at least a few things from each member of the
family in the museum, you may end up with a family feud. Sometimes this situation
can be touchy especially if the family has gone through a critical time;
separation, divorce, death, or a weather or fire catastrophe that wiped out
many of your precious heirlooms. We all at some time in our lives experience
unfortunate events. However, if a picture or anything that makes you relieve past
hurt or insurmountable sadness, then don’t put it in. Instead of making that
decision yourself, consult the family. After all, it is their museum, too.
So put in
some of grandmas’ prize possessions, hang up the baby shoes, display the comic
book and yearbooks, keep the cans of nuts & bolts and label it “grandpas’
toys.” Everyone’s things belong in the family museum – a living tapestry of
your family’s history.
“A morsel of genuine history, a thing
so rare as to be always valuable.”
Thomas Jefferson, Third
President of the United States
Note: Tell me what favorite things do you
want to put in your Family Museum?
Next Post: One Generation of
Time
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