topic Box Of Memories in Community Chat

Box Of Memories

SeaMaiden — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 18:02:44 GMT

I was cleaning out from under the stairs going through things I had not looked at for over 20 years.....lots of pictures taken in late 70's and into the 1980's when we were first married and many more picture capturing stages of our lives over years. Trips, moves etc. To see pictures of me and Hubby in our late 20 something to early 30's....wow! What memories.

I saved the first Birthday card DH gave me several years before we were married...and Valentines Day cards we gave to one another in our early years together. Wow we were real romantics! What happened to THAT?

I am a bit depressed from seeing pictures of me in a bikini looking really good.....and happy seeing pictures. all of our cats and dogs that we have had over 35 plus years of marriage. And seeing my DH at age 20 something....I see why I fell for him.....he was a real HUNK😍❤️💘💝.

So I will put the box of memories away AGAIN.....Wonder when I will next pull them out..or if I ever will again. No children to pass them on to.... where will they end up years from now....😶

Guess I will not worry about that for now. Time to come back to reality. Today Is a beautiful day in my life 😊 So Grateful!

Re: Box Of Memories

homedecor1 — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 18:16:47 GMT

@SeaMaiden

I was having a "moment" today & seeing your post brought me a smile because it made me think of all the "blessed & wonderful" moments God has given me in this life's journey!

Have a wonderful rest of your day!

Re: Box Of Memories

Azcowgirl — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 18:31:24 GMT

@SeaMaiden

I know I'm going to feel the same way when I go through the boxes of memories out in my storage room. When it has been years and years since seeing them, it's hard to believe we were that young, having a family and doing all that we did. I know I will laugh and cry at the same time.

Wow have the years flown by !

Re: Box Of Memories

SilleeMee — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 18:46:09 GMT

@SeaMaiden,

I think I know how you feel about this because I don't have any children either. In fact I am a soul survivor with no immediate family whatsoever. The things I have in my house will be put up in an auction some day. I don't have a problem with this but it does make me sad. Several months ago I burned a huge box of photos because I did not want to be reminded any more. When I used to show them to some of my friends, they would just say "Oh, that's a nice picture" but really it didn't mean much to them...it was just a picture and nothing more so now the pictures are gone for good.

Re: Box Of Memories

SarahW — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 18:48:36 GMT

I recently did the same thing, only I was digging through stuff and found my son's baby book. I must have written down (and photographed) every move he ever made! And looking through that book, I'm glad I did. It was a trip back in time.

Re: Box Of Memories

NicksmomESQ — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 19:17:11 GMT

Memories are important. They ground us.Memories remind us of our past.Our experiences made us who we are today.

Some memories are painful.Others are wonderful. Some memories teach us lessons.Some make us laugh others make us cry.

@SeaMaiden I agree with you.Good Memories should lead us back to the present making us grateful for what we have.I think that makes for a full life.

I don't think what happens to our pictures & memorabilia after we're gone really matters.Even for those of us with children.They will only keep some of it.Probably toss the rest.They won't appreciate the true meaning of what these items meant to us.That's okay because our memories are "our memories ".It's what made us unique!! When we go they will go with us. Our children will have their own memories.

Re: Box Of Memories

meallen616 — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 19:23:58 GMT

Re: Box Of Memories

RedTop — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 19:24:20 GMT

@SeaMaiden,

Oddly enough, I have been on my own memory journey for the last 3 weeks.

My sorting, organizing, purging mess started with the death of a classmate, and pulling out my yearbooks to write his death date near his picture. That led into days of updating my yearbooks on all those I know who have passed.

In the midst of that process, I needed to find important information for a friend, which resulted in pulling out saved items from different places to find what she needed. So while I have all this information pulled out in front of me, I sorted thru it, purged a lot, combined things, and am in the process of storing it in one location---the one major job I have put off for the 5 years I've been sorting and purging in this house.

Looking for one particular picture took me thru 6 photo albums and one tote of loose pictures. So once and for all, I'm going to get this picture situation resolved, which has had me stuffing pictures in photo sleeves all week. My ironing board still has 3 stacks of pictures to resolve; work, friend, and family. I have purchased 40 packs of 10 photo sleeves from 2 Wal-Mart stores in the last week, in order to get this job done right, once and for all. This was the second major job I had put off with my sorting, purging process.

I can see the floor in my TV room again, so I am making slow but steady progress, and will be very pleased with myself once these jobs are done.

Re: Box Of Memories

Bri36 — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 19:25:53 GMT

I do that from time to time. It's nice to look through things that evoke good memories.

I recently found my Christening gown. It still looks good after all these years. I'm going to have it heirloomed with a beaded jacket my mom wore over her wedding dress.

Re: Box Of Memories

SeaMaiden — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 19:42:36 GMT

@SilleeMee I think about this more the older I get....I am slowly getting rid of things that no one else would want little by little. I want to throw my stuff out, not strangers. For instance, I have a daily diary I wrote in when I was 12. It is full of all my thoughts...going through my parents divorce...my first REAL boyfriend at age 12..... actually very amusing in parts, I laugh when I read it😄. So it will be trashed one day.

@SilleeMee wrote:
@SeaMaiden,
I think I know how you feel about this because I don't have any children either. In fact I am a soul survivor with no immediate family whatsoever. The things I have in my house will be put up in an auction some day. I don't have a problem with this but it does make me sad. Several months ago I burned a huge box of photos because I did not want to be reminded any more. When I used to show them to some of my friends, they would just say "Oh, that's a nice picture" but really it didn't mean much to them...it was just a picture and nothing more so now the pictures are gone for good.

Re: Box Of Memories

Lucky Charm — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 19:55:37 GMT

We were lucky enough to have a good friend who was a professional photographer. So many of our pictures are framed and hanging in our homes.

My absolute favorite is of me lounging across his Harley and he's standing behind and looking down at me. I had that enlarged, redone in black and white and it's in our bedroom.

Another one is us in the ocean and he's holding me up over a crashing wave. Every droplet of water is clear as anything. I love the way we look, our expressions, the colors and the location was special, too. I have that in a hallway leading to the back door. I feel like I still look at it every time I come in.

I keep many photos of our grandkids around also. (Camera shots) My latest project is to use 5 old windows from a house we're re-doing and placing pictures of each grandchild in the middle of the panes starting with when they were infants.

I love looking at old photos. I'll never tire of it! I'll never throw them away.

Re: Box Of Memories

MoJoV — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 20:04:26 GMT

@SeaMaiden what a lovely post. So many of us can relate to it!

Re: Box Of Memories

blackhole99 — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 20:31:54 GMT

I come across my box of memories every year when I do a thorough cleaning of my closets. A bundle of letters from my husband when he was in Vietnam and then later when we were engaged, living in different states and he was working for the NSA. Our son's new baby book and the little stocking cap they put on him in the delivery room. Many old photos of family and friends, yes a life time of memories I was blessed enough to amass.

Re: Box Of Memories

Mominohio — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 22:09:09 GMT

I think those of us that have no one to directly hand down this type of history to should know that in generations past, many old photos, letters, diaries etc. remain outside the family they came from, but still marking the history of our people, the nation (or any other nation they may have come from), the culture as it was at the time.

Museums (little local ones) often come across such things from generations past, and love to have them. I know it is hard to think of any of those things belonging to our lifetime as being 'history' but they are and will be so even more as time passes.

Saying that, I don't have too much advice as to what to do with them, but maybe someone else knows the type of places that would use old photos (look at WHAT is in them more so than just who...cars, businesses, streets and landscapes that change over time, or military uniforms, or inside places that change rapidly like hospitals or retail). Even having them donated to someplace like Goodwill after you are gone and people clean out (I used to work for them, and we got that sort of thing a lot), let those interested in the past pick them up and use them to pass on what life was like in a specific period of time. We would sell boxes of old photos and letters that people would use in crafting too.

I'm sure most would not like things that are too personal to be 'out there', but I've found some really fascinating pictures, letters, writings etc. in thrifts, antique stores, flea markets. It is sometimes used to document life in a certain era in books or in displays etc.

Just a thought. People should do with them though, what they are most comfortable with.

Re: Box Of Memories

tends2dogs — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 00:14:05 GMT

The thing about this younger generation, do they even have physical pictures that they can hold in their hands? It seems like everything is on their phones. Looking at someone elses phone pictures isn't pleasureable to me.

Looking at pictures from my parent's and DH's parent's life is fun, but there are so many that we don't have a clue who the people are that are in them. I find that a real shame.

I have made a point of writing dates and names on the back. We sometimes wonder if our kids will really care to have them....????

Re: Box Of Memories

EastCoastGal — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 19:41:12 GMT

Re: Box Of Memories

EastCoastGal — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 19:35:29 GMT