history

I'm considering the division of household goods tonight. Looking around the house at all the things we've collected through the years. We've always collected antiques so these pieces have history way beyond our 20 years. The antique secretary is from the turn of the century. It has candle burn marks and ink stains on the fold-down desk surface. We found it in a garage sale "up north." Someone had started to refinish it and gave up after stripping the finish. We put pieces back together and carefully put on a new finish. Who has owned that piece before? What correspondence did he/she keep in the cubby holes? What was the family like? What joys and sadness did they have? I have my great grandmother's chocolate set. In the days when it was used, hot chocolate was a special occasion. It didn't come in packets to add to microwaved water. It was served in fancy bone china. My mother's grandmother didn't have an easy life. Her husband was a tyrant and they lived on a chicken farm. It's hard to imagine that hard man drinking from fine bone china cups!

I can look at these belongings and think, "They're just things. They're not important." These "things" hold history, though. In a sense they hold secrets of people's lives, their hope, dreams, and realities. A dough box sits in a corner of my living room. The women who've owned this, kneaded dough on it's top and placed the dough inside to rise. The sustenance of life, stored, grew and was protected in this box. The dough box was the center of family life, bread being a most important part of everyday meals. What stories does this box hold?
We have an old TV cabinet from the time when families gathered in front of the TV for those few special shows like Jack Benny. They were also a special occasion. Not a babysitter, but a family (and sometimes neighborhood) occasion. Now only the outer piece of furniture lives on in my entry hall. Caned door in the back to allow air flow... decorative veneers of different woods frame the front. What family gathered here? What memories did they make?

It's sad to think of dividing up our household, but it's meaningful to consider the history we have held and do hold. It's good to consider the connection we all have with those who have gone before us and hopefully those who will follow us. This is life! We make memories now with these things, that add to their history. The secretary now holds family games, hours of family fun. The dough box currently holds my Christmas village. The camel back trunk holds our family photos. What will our children use these items for in the future?