Objects of Our Affection

Dear Diary,

Another snow day but not too bad, 1 -3 " they say.  I spent some of yesterday chopping ice in my driveway but today I will sit by the fire with my latest book.  Objects of Our Affection by Lisa Tracy is about her journey with family heirlooms which she must dispose of and how the process led her to discover the hidden stories of her ancestors. It is a fascinating read and very appropriate for anyone who shoulders the burden of being the curator of their family's artifacts, as I do.

I do not, however, have the number of things she did, thankfully.  And, for the most part, my nephew has agreed to take the major pieces when the time comes.  The burden will shift to his able shoulders.  No, this isn't about the walnut drop leaf table that belonged to my great great grandfather, the one with the little drawer that contains his will leaving it to my grandfather.  This is about my personal artifacts, like the ones seen on the shelf here.  Each comes with its own special memory from a trip I've taken.


These items have meaning only to me and I suspect they will go the way of all such things in the end.  After reading this book, I see why this must be so. Someone, years from now, will pick up the little glass sea turtle and think it is a lovely thing to bring home but they will not know that in it is my memory of swimming with the turtles on St John in the Caribbean one winter.  That is a secret it will keep to itself and that is as it should be.