"I want to give my daughters items to grow up with – things that they will transcend the years, things that hold memories, things they will gift to their own children." ~ Elizabeth Fisher

My Grandma invited me over this weekend to look over some things she was donating to the Catholic Outreach. I picked up a few things, including the items pictured above. I don't know if they are worth any money, maybe they never will be, but to me they are priceless. I'm very sentimental that way. Everything seems to have meaning to me. Everything has 'heirloom' quality to me. Maybe that's why she asked me over to see if I wanted any of it. I still have the blanket she made for me before I was even born. I keep it stashed away because it's falling apart. But anytime I bring it out I can just feel it or smell it and it brings back so many memories. I cherish the quilt my aunt made for me and my husband when we were married. I envision handing that down to our children some day.

I think my Grandma is the same way, maybe that's where I get it from. Every Christmas she seems to give out gifts that are family related. One year it was shadow boxes for all her kids (my aunts and uncles, and Mom) that including things from the past..old eye glasses, rings, antiqued bibles, special pins from the military, embroderied hankies, small baby bracelets. Another year my grandparents transfered all the old family Christmas VHS tapes onto a collection of DVD's and gave those as gifts. It was wonderful to sit down with my Mom and my sister, watching history.

It really makes me think about what I will have to offer my own children. And how very important I think it is to be able to pass things down. I feel like it is less and less important in most families today, to keep things in the family, to relate the history of your family. I never want to forget where I came from or who helped make me the person that I am.