· At night, always have a full tank of gas
· Keep all your ‘treasurables’ in one place.
(I’m assuming that even though they certainly treasured us, we were not included in the above-mentioned rule.)
My mom’s ‘treasurables’ place was an old, green, dome topped trunk that she had restored. The insides held the pieces of our family’s scrapbook. It was filled with pictures, birth certificates, cards, baby clothes, trophies and all the memoirs of a life with four children. We were all aware that in the event of imminent disaster, the trunk was definitely given a place in the car.
Yes, my mother knew that the trunk didn't hold our memories, but it held things that prompted our stories, jokes, and Geddie urban legends. It was the place we went when we had to do any school project that required family material. It was the place we went to hear stories of the “Wonder Boy” patch (given to my dad), the lady April Darlin’ made out of a cup and saucer, or why all Mom’s wedding gifts were pink, even the garbage can, and her favorite color was green.
Somewhere along the way, everything from the trunk was relocated to a cardboard box and the other day I realized that it just wasn’t right. So, I took a green, hard sided suitcase that is too heavy to travel with but too cool to throw away and surrounded the Geddie memories with green once again.
Okay, all of this was a (really long) preface to: If you could only take five things from your house what would they be? Lulu asked me this question and it made me start thinking about that old trunk. I’ve got lots of things in this big ole house that I love. Every room holds treasures that evoke memories for me. Doesn’t it just look like that kind of house?
But only five things……..
· The green suitcase
· My mom’s wedding dress
· Grandmother Gertie’s paintings
· A wooden box that my grandfather said was carved by a prisoner of war with a nail file (it has some small items in it; love letters from my dad to my mom, a tassel from my dad’s high school graduation, etc, but I am NOT counting those in my five……just the box)
· My bible – it has lifetime of notes and prayers in it (it’s almost like a timeline)
Maybe….just maybe, if you added up the monetary value of all of these ‘treasurables’ you would reach $100.00.
Hmmmmmm…….it kinda makes you think, doesn’t it.
It’s not about expensive gifts, is it?
Especially at Christmas
Wanna come spend Christmas with us? I've got plenty of room.