The Stories Behind the Mementos - A Plea

During this past Christmas season, I wrote a blog post nearly every day highlighting a different family Christmas treasure and a bit of history behind it.  

Those posts can be found under all of the Labels that said "Christmas", which goes down the right side of this blog's home page.

Let me show you a few pretties:

A set of Christmas plates Kerry's mother bought for us.

Baby Jesus in a walnut shell.  Kerry's mother brought all of the supplies to make these with the kids.

Danish Christmas plates, honoring Kerry's heritage.

Danish Santa Claus, honoring Kerry's heritage.

Kerry's Christmas star from his mission 46 years ago.

The last Christmas present son Peter bought for us.

Russian nativity set, from son Erik.

Christmas bows made by my mom and me about 1963.

Russian nesting dolls.

My purpose is not to tell the stories of these items all over again, for those have already been done in the Christmas posts.

My purpose is to encourage you to tell the stories of your own Christmas treasures, or any other treasures you may have.

Some day, you will be gone.  And, the things in your house will be downsized, or even thrown away...

UNLESS...

Your children and their children know the meaning behind them, and why you have kept them and displayed them all of these years.

It's not difficult to begin a blog, or even to type up your stories in a word processor.  Someone, maybe way far down the line that you may never meet, will be so happy you did!

For a great read on how important this can be in the lives of your children's children, click here:   http://shared.web.emory.edu/emory/news/releases/2010/03/children-benefit-if-they-know-about-their-relatives-study-finds.html#.WkrO5t9KvIW

It's Only a Little Cup and Saucer

My maternal grandmother was the one I knew the best.

Bertha Agnes Gearheart Stevens, wife of Corbitt Sullivan Stevens

Each year in October, my parents and I made the trip to Kentucky to bring her back to Ohio for the winter. 

My mom was afraid for her mom, for she still heated her house with a coal stove, 

which meant going out back with a coal bucket

during the ice and snow.

She was always ready to go back home in March,

for it was plantin' time.

But, several years before we began to plan for her winter stay, we made trips to visit both her and my grandfather.

Once, during an extremely hot summer visit, 

we had gone "cemeteryin'".

The older folks knew where every one of their kin was buried.

We were so thirsty for something cool to eat or drink,

so we decided to stop at Raybourn's General Store.

It has since burned down. 

But, you could buy just about anything you would ever need...

from overalls, to foodstuffs, to farm implements.

That included fudgcicles.  

The four of us sat in the car slurping away on our fudgcicles 

when "Mawmaw" took me by my eight-year old hand and took me back into the store.

I was just a bit younger than eight in this photo.

There, she proceeded to buy me the prettiest little 

flowered cup and saucer.

It was one of the few things I ever received from her.

I have grown up,

moved several times,

and raised four children...

and that little cup and saucer has survived it all.

The original cup and saucer are on the left,

but through the years I have found a few more plates that 

resemble the same pattern.

I guess that little cup and saucer 

would be considered antiques today.

I'm not sure anyone in my family 

will ever want this or appreciate its story.

It may end up at Goodwill...

But, it's little story is preserved here.

And, this is probably why I love and admire dishes 

to this day.

I will stop dead in my tracks when I see lovely old dishes.

Now, I remember why.