Keepsakes

Keepsakes ~ a gift that evokes memories of a person or event with which it is associated

I think most people collect keepsakes….pressed flowers from someone special….a piece of jewelry….a cuddly toy.  When you gaze upon these items, they remind you of a special date, a special person, a special moment.  I have several such keepsakes from my childhood, my children and my grandparents. 

My friend Tracey at These Nine Acres wrote a post about a keepsake from her grandmother.   I began to think about some of the keepsakes I have from my grandmothers.

My maternal grandmother, the wife of a farmer….a woman who deeply believed in her faith…..who would sing hymns as she cooked the best Sunday dinners you ever ate.  She gave birth to and raised seven children ~ five boys and two girls ~ while helping run the farm.  Grandma S sold fresh eggs and milk for extra money.  I remember visiting the farm during the summers when I was young.  It was a magical time……far away from the city and neighbors, playing with my cousins, feeding the chickens and riding on the tractor.  I remember sitting on the screened porch with her and listening to the sounds of night as we rocked in old, wooden rocking chairs.  Her home was simply decorated, but she did have a wonderful variety of knick knacks displayed on her shelves.  I always thought they were the most beautiful things, especially these little vases…….

 Her church and religion had strict policies, but she didn’t mind.  One such policy prohibited women from wearing jewelry…but my grandmother bent the rules, just a bit mind you.  She always wore dresses, but on Sundays, she would wear her “Sunday best” dresses……and on those dresses she would pin a simple broach.  Along with her broach, she wore a watch……a watch my grandfather presented to me the day of her funeral.  He told me she would want me to have it.

I have never worn this watch…….I have never wound it or changed the time.  It is just as she left it.  It is one of my most treasured possessions.  I look at this watch and I see my grandmother proudly wearing it, even if she was bending the rules just a bit.  🙂

My paternal grandmother was the wife of a bridge builder.  She was also a very religious woman and mother of seven, five boys and two girls.  I always thought it was funny my parents came from the exact same kind of family when I was younger.    Grandma E could make the best biscuits ever by adding the other ingredients to a huge can of flour, mix up just what she needed and leave the remainder of the flour untouched for another day.  This was also the woman who actually got me to eat vegetables with her wonderful vegetable soup.  And she could sew…..she made many, many quilts in her lifetime.  When I would visit she would show me what she was working on while she told me stories about the family.  I was in my mid twenties when she decided I needed a baby ~ so she made me one….

Her years were advanced when she made this, her eyesight wasn’t what it once was…….I love how I can still see where she drew the outline for the mouth and nose on the fabric.  She is my most special doll.  I have the first quilt she ever made for me….it is getting thread bare in some areas so I don’t use it as often as I once did…..

And not too long ago, I received the last quilt she made from my aunt.  It looks as new as the day she finished it….I will treasure this one always……. 

My grandparents have been gone for many years…..some not as long as others……..but they have remained alive in my memories and in my heart all these years.  My keepsakes from them are priceless.