Memento – What to Keep?

me•men•to
Pronunciation: \mə-ˈmen-(ˌ)tō, ÷mō-\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural me•men•tos or me•men•toes
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin, remember, imperative of meminisse to remember; akin to Latin ment-, mens mind
Date: 1580
: something that serves to warn or remind


This year has brought much change. Part of the change lies in literally sorting out the past – boxes of it. What causes some of us to hold on to things and others to seem to have no need to surround themselves with the little oddities the rest of us collect? Usually, you can easily tell by looking at someone’s refrigerator. No magnets, notices, notes, or artwork? Or a collection of the important and mundane.

What do I do with someone else’s mementos? My mother kept six or seven pairs of my childhood shoes. Red leather sandals and stiff white high tops along with tiny little Mary-Jane’s and beaded moccasins. Envelopes with snippets of my once sun yellow blond hair. And why do we keep teeth? I have my children’s baby teeth and now I am faced with a jar of my own. There are pictures of unknown people and broken costume jewelry carefully wrapped in Kleenex.

There were notes written inside lid of my mother’s makeup box. “You Know Something” in my father’s hand. Small code words meaning “I love you.” Cards she had given to him signed "You Know Who" - cards that were obviously left behind.

What will my own children find when the time comes? Small onesies that they wore when infants and baby books with hair clippings taped in the back. A teddy bear, a black bat doll, a stethascope, a candle shade imprinted with the sererenity prayer. Rubber stamps and half-finished quilts along with boxes of books. Finely crochetted doilies from my grandmother, pictures of my mother along with drumsticks and artwork from my father. Baskets and boxes and glass bowls. Will they be able to identify the jewelry that reminds me of love vs. the jewelry that speaks of fashion? Will they understand the code words they find written on notes or in letters?

I am sorting through the past in order to move with the rhythm of the present.

What Worked For Me Today
Throwing away the things that can not be fixed and have no emotional or financial value. Washing and mending the things that can.

Minutia
Current Books on My Bed
"The Epidemic - a Global History of Aids" by Jonathan Engel
"A Kiss of Shadows" - by Laurell K. Hamilton
"Soduko" - presented by Will Shortz