Ahwhoops
Yeeeoops, been a wee while since I blogged, sorry.
I went to help my mother sort through her stuff as she moves from the apartment she's been in for I guess what must be nearly 20 years -- how is that possible!!? She's actually moved to an old fogey's home apartment (she tells me it's called a retirment home) but the process of giving up much of her possessions is on, as she has a small space now and no longer has a kitchen to worry about so no need for much of anything she's been surounded by for the past two decades, at the very least.
I've brought home much from my childhood and am awash in nosalgia and memory prompts. Didn't get a chance to talk to my mother about what it must be like to see furniture and "things" she's had for decades upon decades be sent off into oblivon -- I don't mean about the value, but about the familiarity of such "things" gone. I am on the other side on that coin with items now back in my possession that were always present in my childhood, whether it's an ornate brass, but tiny (holds a birthday candle) candlestick that always rested on the above-the-sink windowsills that my mother's spaces always had; or a sculpture I did in Grade 8 and my mother too always kept out in view. I also have a fleet of "redline" Hot Wheel cars from the late '60s on my desk... I threw out a tupperwar salt and peppershaker set that would likely pre date my birth or close; the salt shaker still sporting stickers I'd afixed to them, and the guilt at throwing them out is thick. These were ugly plastic, but I'm sick with remorse. Really. Sheesh.
My mother and some other members of my family were also realizing that except for funerals it's unlikely any of us will ever have reason to return to the hometown. Although I suspect I'm going to go back this summer with a notebook and fill it with ideas for poems. The tree I planted in the lawn of the family house is huge now, I noticed as I drove by...
Anyway I have several prompts for blog topics from yesterday's events and will -- if I ever get time to blog again regularly -- set them forth under some master heading such as, say, "You Can Never Go Home, But I Just Did"
I went to help my mother sort through her stuff as she moves from the apartment she's been in for I guess what must be nearly 20 years -- how is that possible!!? She's actually moved to an old fogey's home apartment (she tells me it's called a retirment home) but the process of giving up much of her possessions is on, as she has a small space now and no longer has a kitchen to worry about so no need for much of anything she's been surounded by for the past two decades, at the very least.
I've brought home much from my childhood and am awash in nosalgia and memory prompts. Didn't get a chance to talk to my mother about what it must be like to see furniture and "things" she's had for decades upon decades be sent off into oblivon -- I don't mean about the value, but about the familiarity of such "things" gone. I am on the other side on that coin with items now back in my possession that were always present in my childhood, whether it's an ornate brass, but tiny (holds a birthday candle) candlestick that always rested on the above-the-sink windowsills that my mother's spaces always had; or a sculpture I did in Grade 8 and my mother too always kept out in view. I also have a fleet of "redline" Hot Wheel cars from the late '60s on my desk... I threw out a tupperwar salt and peppershaker set that would likely pre date my birth or close; the salt shaker still sporting stickers I'd afixed to them, and the guilt at throwing them out is thick. These were ugly plastic, but I'm sick with remorse. Really. Sheesh.
My mother and some other members of my family were also realizing that except for funerals it's unlikely any of us will ever have reason to return to the hometown. Although I suspect I'm going to go back this summer with a notebook and fill it with ideas for poems. The tree I planted in the lawn of the family house is huge now, I noticed as I drove by...
Anyway I have several prompts for blog topics from yesterday's events and will -- if I ever get time to blog again regularly -- set them forth under some master heading such as, say, "You Can Never Go Home, But I Just Did"
posted by Heipel at
7:31 PM
2 Comments:
When it comes down to the nitty- gritty, memories are really all we have. Some good, some bad. I choose to remember the good. Cherish the time with your mother Heipel. When my mother died we all picked out what we wanted. I didn't want the expensive stuff, instead I chose her favorite cooking utensils, her bible, knitting needles, cook books, things that she loved. I understand exactly what you are saying.
Looking forward to your posts.
:) Maggie
when i saw your childhood stuff that you brought to home, i really regreted that i had to keep some....for my childhood' memories...damn...
anyway..
your "things" are really lovely...
and also i loved your mom's kitchen stuff too... :)
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