I’ve done lots of cleaning and sorting these last many months as I’ve been visiting family in Texas. Back home, I stay on top of our belongings pretty diligently, so there’s very little to sort and clean out. Some days, in our apartment back home, I would wake up with the restless itch to sort and clean stuff out, but I couldn’t think of any space that really needed it. So it’s been a real joy (even as it’s also been hard work) to have new spaces to sort through and freshen up. As I’ve sorted through piles I’ve realized just how good I am at it and learned that it’s a dynamite stress buster for me. I’m glad to know that I can use this skill when I need help coping with anxious moments.
One of the joys of sorting, especially through family belongings, is all of the exciting discoveries. I’ve met so many old relatives through the letters, postcards, and photos I’ve found. I feel like I know Benjamin’s family better and I’ve learned new things about my own. My heart is filled to bursting with love and gratitude for all the stories I’ve heard as I’ve asked questions about our families, spurred on by the continual finding of family artifacts.
One of the delightful finds was a collection of old letters, photos, and postcards that belonged to my mom’s great-aunt. In amongst faces of people we didn’t know was a small photo of my mom’s paternal grandmother with her two sisters. Three young women in lovely dresses posing for a portrait that none of us had ever seen before.
To my delight, my grandmother gave me the whole parcel of mystery people and correspondence because she knew I’d treasure and care for it. But I felt weird about being given this beautiful photo of my mom’s grandmother, whom she was so close to. My dad had the great idea that I should frame it and give it to her for Mother’s Day.
After some searching I found a lovely pale blue frame to fit the photo. I loved how the blue brought out the yellowing age of the photograph. This morning I gave it to my mom and had the joy of hearing her share how much those three women meant to her in her younger life. My mom’s grandparents lived next door when she was growing up and she cherished the relationship she had with her grandmother. She also corresponded with both of her great aunts for many years beginning when she was just a girl.
After giving the gift we went to lunch with my parents and maternal grandmother.
I wore earrings that belonged to my maternal grandmother’s mother (my great-grandmother). My grandmother wore earrings and a necklace that were also her mother’s (that she’d given to her mother years before on Mother’s Day).
I wore a butterfly pin that was Benjamin’s grandmother’s who just died last month. And my mom wore earrings that were his grandmother’s too.
I’m grateful for the two women I got to spend time with today and for those women who came before us. And I’m grateful for little things like old photos and jewelry as we keep close the women who made us who we are and celebrate our remembrances of them.