Everyday Canvas

Old Things

Prompt: Sometimes older things embody, and in a sense, are witness to-a view of the world much different then our own. This refers to family heirlooms and what they mean to family members. Write about this in your Blog entry today.

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We had a curio cabinet in our living room while I was growing up. Inside it, were items I had no attachment to whatsoever, but for my grandmother it was different. She lived through those things.

Then of course, there were the old family photos in black and white, but mostly in sepia. Each time my grandmother looked at them, she wept. During the years I grew up among all these antiques and old stuff, I felt they were just things, out of their time and totally obsolete.

Now that I am old, I can understand my grandmother's attachment to such old worn-out objects. I have never been one to get attached to things, old or new, but still, I do use the rolls and rolls of handmade lace my grandmother made with her own hands. Some photos, too, leave a feeling of sadness and longing for people I'll never see again here on earth.

Truth is, I still don't care too much about the stuff inside my own curio cabinet. Neither do I care for the antique jewelry, my grandfather's stamp collection, the fake Stradivarius violin--circa 1936, which my grandfather brought to my mother from Vienna, or the other even older antiques that hide many stories in them, as each scratch mark or a logo carries its own specific narrative and charm, and I've heard it all from my grandmother.

Still, heirlooms have bridged the gap between me and the people who are here no more, like my grandmother and other older family members, and thus, they've made memories live longer. They've also instilled in me a sense of belonging to a family, a clan, or a group and imparted in me an appreciation for my heritage.

This is because all these items are symbols of endurance and resilience. They have stood the passage of time and countless changes of owners. In their existence, they tell me stories of the lives before me, stories of my family members and friends, most I have never met, as these objects hold a unique significance that now transcends time.




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