What kind of things do you keep for sentimental reasons?

hollydolly said:
I have my mothers' wedding ring. My mum was in a loveless violent marriage but I kept the ring because my father burnt all her belongings even tho' I begged him to let me have something, he refused.. however I got the ring..but I always felt it was bad luck because of all she went through..

After about 3o years , and my life wasn't doing great I felt I needed to get rid of that ring..it was bad luck..it had brought my mother horrible luck within her marriage .. so as it wasn't valuable, I threw it in the bin ( it was a big decision and not something I took lightly, but in the bin it went in the hope my luck would change)...

Fast forward another 10 years and about 2 years ago..I was in the attic and I came across a little suitcase..tiny little antique vanity case. which I hadn't opened since my DD was a baby . and inside was my DD's baby things, Baptism certificate, first teeth, my horseshoes and roses from my wedding cake from my first marriage my dd's father .. a newspaper clipping about my late grandmother..and ... my mothers' wedding ring !! :oops::oops:...I swear to you, my mothers' wedding ring, the same ring I took such great care to throw out, was in a ring box inside the little vanity case in the loft :eek:

I was in total shock.. but this time I thought, it was meant to be here, and so it remains, up there in the case in the loft!!
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Oh my gosh, what a story! God bless your mother; may she be resting in peace.

Your story about your mother sounds so like my own mother. The only thing that makes me happy is that Mom is finally resting in peace.
 

PamfromTx said:
I have 2 or 3 letters that my mother wrote to me when I moved away. By the way she wrote one can tell she was already getting sick (Dementia), but they were such sweet letters.

I have one saved on my computer to read when I'm missing her.
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I'm so sorry your sweet mum was the victim of Dementia Pam, but how lovely for you to have those precious letters to read over and over, and remember her as she once was ....I've always wished I had something personal like letters.
 

hollydolly said:
I have my mothers' wedding ring. My mum was in a loveless violent marriage but I kept the ring because my father burnt all her belongings even tho' I begged him to let me have something, he refused.. however I got the ring..but I always felt it was bad luck because of all she went through..

After about 3o years , and my life wasn't doing great I felt I needed to get rid of that ring..it was bad luck..it had brought my mother horrible luck within her marriage .. so as it wasn't valuable, I threw it in the bin ( it was a big decision and not something I took lightly, but in the bin it went in the hope my luck would change)...

Fast forward another 10 years and about 2 years ago..I was in the attic and I came across a little suitcase..tiny little antique vanity case. which I hadn't opened since my DD was a baby . and inside was my DD's baby things, Baptism certificate, first teeth, my horseshoes and roses from my wedding cake from my first marriage to my dd's father .. a newspaper clipping about my late grandmother..and ... my mothers' wedding ring !! :oops::oops:...I swear to you, my mothers' wedding ring, the same ring I took such great care to throw out, was in a ring box inside the little vanity case in the loft :eek:

I was in total shock.. but this time I thought, it was meant to be here, and so it remains, up there in the case in the loft!!
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Three possibilities i see, and report with tongue firmly planted in cheek hoping others will see the humor in them, may be more but these the main contenders IMO:
1) Someone in your household saw you toss it, retrieved it and packed it away in case you ever regretted tossing it, or maybe because they felt some sentimental attachment to it.
2) You retrieved it either sleepwalking or in some 'fugue' state of disassociation and packed it away--out of sight, out of mind but still there.
3) Something extraordinary happened: Time/space bent; dimensions overlapped; you moved in the meantime from one timeline to another where you did not toss it; some magical being retrieved it and packed it away just to mess with you now which was the future then.

In all seriousness, i was touched by your change of heart on the matter, because from what you say it is the only tangible object of connection with your Mum. Sometimes despite any negative associations one may have with an object that alone is a reason to keep it.
 
BTW this is the poem about my father's compass. The only thing that has significantly changed since then (see date below) is that the earth has shifted on its axis and the rising sun at equinoxes no longer shines directly thru the entry door.


My father’s compass sits on a mantel
In the wooden box it was transferred to
when he sold the boat it guided.
He knew that boat would be his last.
This compass guided him around the Caribbean
and the Gulf of Mexico when the stars
were unavailable due to weather.
It told me my home was built with
traditions of this arid land in mind:
Each side faces a cardinal point
and at the equinoxes the rising sun
shines directly thru my front door.
Twenty years ago, caring for him
as cancer dismantled his brain
how helpless I felt as I watched while,
somewhat like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey,
he revisited his past, seeing those long dead,
as his thought processes unraveled.
Finally, he could no longer read,
this man who taught me the power of words.
Seeing the dry-docked boat compass now
I am reminded of the internal compass
he gave me at a tender age,
with the cardinal points of inquiry, reasoning,
responsibility and compassion.

This internal compass keeps me on course
despite pirates and storms.

© efbarmore 6/13/15
 
feywon said:
Three possibilities i see, and report with tongue firmly planted in cheek hoping others will see the humor in them, may be more but these the main contenders IMO:
1) Someone in your household saw you toss it, retrieved it and packed it away in case you ever regretted tossing it, or maybe because they felt some sentimental attachment to it.
2) You retrieved it either sleepwalking or in some 'fugue' state of disassociation and packed it away--out of sight, out of mind but still there.
3) Something extraordinary happened: Time/space bent; dimensions overlapped; you moved in the meantime from one timeline to another where you did not toss it; some magical being retrieved it and packed it away just to mess with you now which was the future then.

In all seriousness, i was touched by your change of heart on the matter, because from what you say it is the only tangible object of connection with your Mum. Sometimes despite any negative associations one may have with an object that alone is a reason to keep it.
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I know your tongue was firmly in cheek..:LOL:. but I just want to reiterate.. no-one knew I'd thrown the ring away, id din't tell them..

I don't sleepwalk, much less sleepwalk to the bin , get the attic ladders out and climb into the loft...lol...

..I'm no conspiracy theorist believe me... I'm very much a realist, but THIS , shook me at the time, I was stunned.. , I have absolutely no explanation for it...
 
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I am trying to give away items I have held on to that my daughter does not want. Mainly because I do not want my daughter to have the burden after I go on to the next 'world' :)
I send blessings to those who will eventually possess my items ..that makes it a little easier to part with the more sentimental memories. I have heard some take photos to keep but I just rely on memory and if I forget them that's ok too!
 
hollydolly said:
I have absolutely no explanation for it...
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I watched a Ted talk video once about memories and the person said her father died when she was a child, and the memory she had of him was him reading a particular children's book with her. Then as an adult she saw that book and discovered that it was published a year AFTER her father had died, so her memory was wrong and was most likely her uncle. Anyway the talk I think was about how memories aren't like hardcopies but are built by our brains, and aren't necessarily exact.
In my experience I've noticed my brain keeps trying to make a memory from the day my bestest favoritest horse died. Some horse stepped on my foot that day, and when I took off my socks that night and discovered it, I didn't know which horse stepped on me, but ever since when I think of the possibilities I just notice how my brain is having no trouble inventing a memory for it.
 
I have a few items from my Navy days: full dress uniform including my sword, my medals and some certificates (especially my certificates for crossing the equator and 180th meridian. I also have a box of photographs from my boyhood and the license tag from the collar of the best dog with which I ever shared my days (a Pembroke Welsh Corgi who I still miss).
 
I would say me and my husband are Hoarders. I have every card or drawing from my kids and grandkids, and every letter he wrote me when he was in the Navy. I have 2 lamps that were my Mom's favorites. I have all my 45 records from when I was young. I still have the sweater my husband was wearing when we met and I was 15yrs old. I have one of his uniforms from the Navy. My Mom had a tradition of giving her children rings when they turned 16yrs old. I still have mine and carried on the tradition with my children and grandchildren, Of course, I still have hundreds of pictures that I treasure more than anything. I even have the Negligee I wore on my wedding night. Which is over 50yrs old.

As for my husband, He saved everything from when he worked
from papers from when he worked and many other things.Actually too many things to remember.
 
This thread reminded me of some things I kept from my Parents house when they passed away. I have a small box of clothes my Mom made for me when I was a toddler. I have a nice family photo album with pictures dating back as far as the 1940's. I have another box of letters I wrote to the folks when I was in the military...they saved them all. My Dad was a truck driver....member of the Teamsters union, and I have a nice trophy he got when he passed 1 million miles, accident free.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
What kind of things do you keep for sentimental reasons?
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One of the many things I have and is prized above most of the others is my hammer.

No I'm not nuts

I moved to Alaska after I was diagnosed with heart failure and given two years to live, that was 1995.

while there I joined with two other hunting guides on a 80 acre homestead

lived there for 20+ years

and with this simple hammer helped the others build

5 different homes

for someone who only had two years to live

this hammer is definitely a symbol

IMG_1701.JPG
 
spectratg said:
Memory can be misleading. A person may believe with absolute certainty what they did at a specific time 10 years ago or 20 years ago, but our memories can play tricks on us.
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Not mine...I only had one wedding ring of my mothers.. and it took a great deal of thought before I made a very deliberate decision to throw it away.... not something I could make a mistake about.

I've never thrown a ring away in my life, that was the only one ever, I didn't do it casually, it was something I even spoke to my mother about and apologised to her as I threw it away and said I felt sure she would understand , I never imagined , that I'd thrown my mothers' ring away nor do I imagine it's back up there in the loft now...
 
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I have a tiny stuffed wire haired fox terrier on wheels, that was my mother's. The stuffed dog is pure white, like our pet wire haired fox terrier was. Also have a blue pottery mixing bowl that was my mother's. I also have a couple of kitchen utensils that belonged to my great grandmother.

I didn't take much stuff when my mother died. First, because I never wanted to get in any arguments about it, I let my sister have first choice. She wanted nearly everything, which was fine with me. Second, I was planning to embark on a minimalist lifestyle -- which plan got the kibosh after my daughter moved in.

At this point, I just wonder why anyone who owns an Instant Pot needs a separate rice cooker. Or why anyone who owns a coffee maker can't just use instant coffee, or brew it pour-over style. My daughter is lucky I bought a stove. I had considered using a countertop toaster/convection oven and a hot plate. Unfortunately, I bought the stove before I thought of that idea.
 
I have the bill of sale for the brand new Chevrolet my father bought in 1937 for $700. I also have some WW2 gas ration stamps for the same car.
I also have a few books that are over a century old. There is one book that I have personally owned for 70 years.
 
I keep very few items for sentimental reasons but I do treasure My Three Bears pictured below. On the right, the scruffy-loved-to-death bear I was given in 1948 wearing his 1998 Australian Bicentennial badge, in the middle is Willy the Koala given to me by a student in my class when his dad had the honour of wearing the Willy costume for Australia at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and on the left is the "new boy", Borobi, mascot of the 2018 Commonwealth Games here on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

5GR6za2.jpg
 
1) My wedding gown, garter, hairpiece with attached veil, floral (silk) bouquet, rosary, cake topper, other Catholic wedding ceremonial items. Goblets, cake knife and who knows what else. Don't know why I'm keeping it all.
 
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I looked around , and my most cherished items are gifts from friends. A coworker asked what I wanted for my Xmas office gift. I said, "Something made by Ford". She got me a 'Ford' hot wheels car. I know it's a kids show, but I love "Spongebob Squarepants". My nephew got me a fridge magnet. There's a three inch high stuffed teddy bear from a friend. Then there's gifts to me. I am one of the owners of the Empire State Building- not much of an owner-my share of the rent comes to 9 cents every three months. I have a three foot model of the building. And lots of Tampa Bay Bucs stuff. Then there's Big Ben , and Eiffel Tower souvenirs from my trip.
I really didn't realize how much stuff I have in keepsakes.
 


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