What personal belongings do you hold most dear?
Elan
I have a few boxes now of small tokens my cherished people have given to me over the years. Anyone else might see junk, but to me they are precious. As someone with a distracted mind and a poor memory, I take great pleasure of the vivid memories they evoke of my family and friends, past and present. You don’t know it, but you may be in my token box!
Cate
For years, I kept the running shoes I ran my first 10K in, because they represented a shift from being a person who didn’t really move my body to one who gloried in it. But after carting them on many moves, I finally took a photo of them and let them go. I have been doing that with many of my previously “cherished” possessions (e.g., books, art), as well as a lot of less-cherished ones. Cleaning out my mother’s home after her death really made me a proponent of the whole “swedish death cleaning” approach to my personal space — my mother was very tidy and organized but she had *everything*, including her paystubs from the 1960s. My natural instinct is to keep things, especially things that have connections to the people I love — but sorting through a lifetime of things one by one made me realize how few things I really need. And then I accidentally donated or threw away some of the few things I *did* want to keep (including jewellery that belonged to my mother and grandmother) — and dealing with the grief and guilt of losing those things created openings to let go of almost anything that I’m not actively using. Bikes, though, I have a hard time letting go of,lol.
All of this said, I have a shocking propensity to lose things I AM using, like the GLASSES RIGHT OFF MY FACE. I wish I could have more of those things more readily to hand and fewer of the books I randomly bought on a whim that I will never ever read.
Diane
Family photos, maybe. I have lots of stuff, including treasures picked up while traveling. But if I had to abandon it all, my priorities would be the cat cages to get cats into, and a photo album or two if there was time. Nothing else really matters.
Sam
Bikes (obviously), photos that aren’t digitized, some jewelry, some mementos from special people, my first day of school report card!
Martha
have my mom’s wedding and anniversary rings, my father’s silver ring, and my own wedding anniversary rings. I would grab those instantly. Since my great-grandmother’s bracelet is there too, I’d grab that also. The jewellery reminds me of promises made and kept, of my ancestors near and far, and my cultural traditions in the new and old worlds. I have some books that mean a lot but I am slowly culling others. I have a few mementos — my wedding dress, my mother’s wedding dress, my christening dress that Nick used, and a hot pink velvet pantsuit my MIL gave me years ago that is ornately trimmed with gold. I have a lot of sentimental paper — a few favorite books, some letters, a few cards. I have collections that I will give up eventually but I will likely hang onto my ceramic collections by Spanish and English china makers. As I have packed up two parental homes, I am conscious of what I own and what I will choose to keep. This year will be a great opportunity to review, to curate, and to release. I know they are just things but I like reminders of the beauty, grace, love and joy I have been given and created. They are both anchors to my history and wings to my future.
Christine
I am one of those people who surrounds themselves with items that represent people and memories that I hold dear but to name a few:
My wedding ring that belonged to my Grandmother Hennebury, my Dad’s wallet (that my cousin helped me make from a Tandy leather kit over 40 years ago), artwork from my sisters (both feature stars, of course), a tea cup from my Nan Reid, a quilt from my Mom, a comic that my kids drew for me many years ago, books and tarot cards from my husband, and…you get the idea!
My workspace is filled with all kinds of things that spark stories and ideas and that bring my very closest people to mind.
Tracy
I’m not sure about what I “hold most dear,” but one thing I can’t part with is a gorgeous china tea set that was my maternal grandmother’s. I never met her and no one ever used the tea service. It came with us when we moved from South Africa. Still no one used it. Now I use it and I cherish it, even though I am scared to break it and it’s totally impractical because the cups are so tiny. I’d rather break it under frequent use than have it sit untouched for another few decades.
