Heirlooms are valuable when we can tie a story or an emotion to them. Otherwise, they are just old stuff. Grandma’s china is important to Janis because it reminds her of visiting her grandma, family dinners, warm cozy times.
If the china sat in a box in the attic during Gene’s childhood, he has no fond memories attached to it. To him, it’s another box of junk to deal with.
Janis was afraid the china would be broken so she kept it locked up. By keeping it locked up, she stripped its meaning from future generations. If you want an heirloom to be important to your descendants, when your children are young, get it out, let them touch it, tell them stories about the ancestor who owned it. History doesn’t belong in an attic.
Heirlooms are valuable when we can tie a story or an emotion to them. Otherwise, they are just old stuff. Grandma’s china is important to Janis because it reminds her of visiting her grandma, family dinners, warm cozy times.
If the china sat in a box in the attic during Gene’s childhood, he has no fond memories attached to it. To him, it’s another box of junk to deal with.
Janis was afraid the china would be broken so she kept it locked up. By keeping it locked up, she stripped its meaning from future generations. If you want an heirloom to be important to your descendants, when your children are young, get it out, let them touch it, tell them stories about the ancestor who owned it. History doesn’t belong in an attic.