Monday Memories

Happy Ground Hog Day to you!

Groundhog hibernation gave rise to the popular American custom of Groundhog Day, held on the second of February every year. Tradition dictates that if a groundhog sees its shadow that day, there will be six more weeks of winter, though such a prediction seems a sure bet over much of the groundhog's North American range.

 So it looks like there will be another 6 weeks of winter. But that’s ok. Why? Because as the winter winds blow and it’s too cold for outside activities, this is the best time to create your Family Museum. And since today’s theme is Monday Memories, I would like to share with you our family’s museum “Honey Bear.” He is a close to a Ground Hog we can get.

Made in Korea by Daekor Designs DI I and distributed by the Hudson Bay Trading Co., Ltd., NY, our Honey Bear’s original name is “Pot Belly Bear.” He is 18” high from the tip of his fuzzy ear to the tip of his foot, with a 16” wide hug. I gave him to my husband and he would use Honey Bear as a pillow behind his head when he drove long distances. As time went on, Honey Bear was adorn with a band of cowrie shells and chocolate brown color ipil seeds taken off of an old Panama hat.  

According to African legend, if you are attracted to cowrie shells you could be family to an ocean spirit of wealth and earth. It also represents Goddess protection which is very powerful and connected with the strength of the ocean. Throughout Africa, and South and North America, the cowrie symbolized the power of destiny and prosperity. 

The Ipil seeds are used for many crafts in the Philippines and come from Acacia trees.

After our son Charlie was born, he received a Baby “Chicago Bears” Jacket. It did not fit him, so we put it on Honey Bear and to this very day, wears it proudly.

Honey Bear loves being in our Family Museum. We regard him as the museum guard watching over our family heirlooms. Do you have any Honey Bears in your museum?

 

Tuesday Post:  Tuesday Treasures

Monday Memories

Last post on this subject matter dealt with “Collecting vs. Family Museum.” This Monday I want to share with you what I did this past weekend – organizing memories. Yep! Back into our family museum, this time on our children’s collections. Oh, how I almost despaired tackling this treasure trove. Their museum has a total of, at present; 44 years for Tiffeni and 27 years for Charlie, totaling 71 years of keepsakes. WOW! And because my Blog Spot will focus on their museum at a later date, I just want to sum up at this point how I felt as I opened many of the boxes of the things they chose to save. And what a blast to the past I had!

The hallway was strewed with toys, a large wooden horse, table and chairs, dollhouse, rolls of posters, bins of baby clothes, and of course boxes. The first items I organized were the baby clothes. And more than baby outfits. There were piles of play clothes, fancy dresses and little man outfits.

 And shoes! Now these are by far the most endearing items. As I picked them up and felt the smooth leather and re-tied the laces, I floated on a wonderful flood of memories. The tiniest ones gave me much pause. Then I ran my fingers over the scuffed toes of the shoes they wore when they began crawling. Their first walking shoes made me laugh at the pictures in my head of their tumbles and falls and determination to feel the power of movement in their little legs. Even hubby got a bit misty eyed when he recalled how his Tiffy would call out to him to tie the laces on her first pair of sneakers. Before I put them back in the box, I lined them up and took photos of them all.

Then came the boxes of school papers, a toy chest full of journals, and toys galore. The baby toys tell many stories, but the toys the kids really played with when they got holder hold the magic of their imagination, personality traits, learning styles, and interests. As we watched our children play with these toys, little did we know then that they were the tools of their development. And most importantly, the children, now adults, can see for themselves when they pass by their museum, how important it was and is to save the things from their past, for it is from their past they learned what they do in the present and take in regard in planning their future.   

So back I go into their museum for I have much more work to do before I have it all organized, photographed, and ready to share with you. Meanwhile, I am enjoying my Monday Memories. I hope you have many good ones, too.

Next Post: Tuesday Treasures