When I was younger my mom and I lived with my grandparents off and on. When we weren’t living there we visited often so it was always a home to me. My grandmother had a few boxes that help old photos, newspaper clippings and artwork. I would spend hours scouring through those boxes and have many of the images embedded into my mind now from looking through them so much. There was no rhyme or reason to the box just a treasure trove of memories to be sifted through.
Then there was the Family Bible. It was white, pristine and huge compared to any other book in our house. It sat out on the coffee table for much of my childhood. I remember flipping through the pages before I could read and looking at the pictures. You know the ones… the Garden of Eden, Moses holding the Ten Commandment tablets, Noah’s arc, and Jesus feeding the masses. I can’t remember anyone ever sitting down and actually reading through the big book but then again it was so large it surely would have cut off the circulation in your legs if you held it in your lap. No this Bible, was a placeholder of life. My grandmother would stick notes, certificates, obituaries and such between the pages. As you flipped through something new would catch your eye.
Now donning an old tinged beige color the Bible sits near the entry of my Grandparent’s home. It seems much smaller than it used to but still the largest book either of us own by far. As I flipped the pages, familiar mementos fluttered about until I came across a letter in an envelope. It was to my Grandfather written when I was 8 years old. The same man that would walk me down the isle 17 years later. The note said in my best cursive at the time…. “I love you very very much, you are the best!”
I am glad we have these little things to reminisce over with my kids. While we have differnt memory keeping techniques now, I love a good walk down memory lane all the same.
Did your parents/grandparents have any unique places they held their memories?
