If you're family, well more my Mom, is like ours then you know. There's something about a Mom's love that's different than one a day gives. And Mom's love, just love, when their kids were young. And there's no better way to celebrate Motherhood and witnessing as their kid hits all the milestones in life than saving...everything. It's a bitter-edged sword. While discovering all those things that have been tucked away it usually means boxes upon boxes of "stuff" that takes up visual and physical space. All you have to do is take a venture down into the basement or attic for proof.
I've, mostly for the good, am a chip of my Mom's own block as I have tons of "firsts" from my kids early lives. And one thing that is a super positive, is after you've lost one, finding these keepsakes can really be a beautiful albeit emotional, experience.
But then the question is what do you do with it all? For me, a lot of this stuff has made the journey from Red Bank, to Verona, to West Orange, back to Red Bank, to Middletown, to Ocean Township, to Deal, back to Red Bank, before settling in in Titusville. That some trip, and a lot of heavy lifting. Over the years I've added my own keepsakes, from days in the firehouse, a billion pictures of houses, celebrations, and vacations. Throw in that another bunch, like a ton, of bins of old Lionel Trains, and I could star in a re-make of Sanford & Son.
During an edit of my dresser, well not my dresser, but one of those wooden dresser storage valets, I found some things I've been holding onto. They've been around for 57 years now. They're my first curls and my first tooth, which my Mom harvested around my first birthday.
So the big question is what to do with them? These days kids want....NOTHING. And if they did want something it wouldn't be my firsts. I called my Mom and filled her in on my discovery. It's funny, when you're the oldest, you take on the role of gatekeeper of family keepsakes. So in the end I let the First Tooth go but kept the My First Curl because it was personalized.
Imagine I'm worrying about two items that are a little more than a quarter in size. Yeah, how am doing?