WORRIED ABOUT WHAT THOSE LEFT BEHIND WHEN YOU'RE GONE WILL NOT KEEP?

I was talking with a customer today about those things that she treasures and why.  She like so many other customers I speak with are worried that their children aren’t going to want any of their items they consider most valuable and NOT because of the monetary value, but what it’s meant to the family.  Throughout what I have to say in this blog, keep in mind that when I say child that this is inclusive to mean any younger person that you may want to share your life with after you’re gone.  I don’t have children of my own, but I’m hoping that nieces, nephews and extended family and friends will want a piece of us to treasure.  

PLEASE share stories with your kids.  Don’t assume they’re going to remember the things you’ve told them as they grew up when you weren’t the cool one to listen to necessarily.  Have you ever noticed as your kids get older that it seems that you’re getting smarter in their minds?  You are!  BUT STILL don’t assume that they’re going to remember all of these stories.  How many of you wished you’d have written down the stories your parents told you but it’s too late?  I do!  AND I hear it everyday at my store and from the emails I get from people who are frantically trying to sell their items.  You can label all of your items, but then how are you going to attach the story?  There are so many ways to go about this.  I’d like to share a few.  

Walk around your house with your camera and/or phone and record your stories in your own voice.  Oh how I wish I could still hear my parents telling the stories I should have listened to more carefully.  Just to hear their voices would be such a treasure in itself.   This generation is lucky because their lives are practically recorded in one way or another on social media in a positive way.  However the stories of those of us who are getting older are going to get lost if we don’t do the same right now and record those stories for them.  

If you’re not much for that idea, then walk around your house and snap photos of your items.  Then create a scrapbook of sorts, as simple or elaborate as you’d like them to be, with the stories that you or others remember about those special gifts passed to you.  Imagine how much more your child and others to come as the generations pass by will treasure those very items.  

I also hear so many young people say things like my grandma used to play that game with me; my mom used to use those same dishes for our everyday dishes; I remember that my mom used to keep one of these in our front window because it was such a prized possession of hers; my father collected lures but I don’t know what ever happened to those… I could go on and on.  Play games with your child, so people will keep playing games with one another and not JUST machines.  Use the items that have been in your cupboard gathering dust because they were “Grandma’s dishes.”  Don't keep your special items in a tub for safe keeping.  Find out what treasures you have that your child may want. Talk with your families and friends NOW. If you're the younger person, encourage your parents and/or friends to do this.  Offer to be their recorder.  Have fun with them creating a scrapbook that will be a keepsake for generations to come.  

        
I have people that pay great money for someone else's pictures from 100+ years ago, diaries written by people they never knew, and even underwear worn by a soldier from WW1!  Think I'm kidding, look online at the memories of someone else's lives that are for sale for sometimes GREAT amounts of money.  Pass your family's recorded and photographed memories on because they will be eventually treasured if you can instill that value in those that surround you.  

There’s no better time or age to start than today.  Don’t put it off, no matter your age because as those of us that are in the autumn or winter season of our lives will tell you, time is fleeting and oh so much quicker than you ever dreamed it could possibly be.