We are calling it the purge of 2017. My sister and I have taken it upon ourselves to throwaway, donate, and minimize the stuff in our lives. Boxes of toys, clothes, household items, and random things that we’ve collected through the years have been piling up and it’s time to get rid of them.
As I stubbornly get rid of things that I might use someday I realized that there are some things worth keeping. One of which, is my Grandpa’s sugar dish. Chipped, faded, and containing no true value, this sugar dish reminds me of summers spent in my grandpa’s home watching Judge Judy and Inspector Gadget, making blanket forts with the dining room chairs and pretending that each step on the stairs was a different room in Barbie’s dream house.
When my Grandpa passed away my Mom had offered many things to me to keep in remembrance of him but they were all just things my Grandpa had owned. I didn’t want one of his Gene Autry calendars or one of the many mini replicas of his horse Champ, to me these were just things my Grandpa had owned. It may seem odd, but one thing I wish I would have kept was one of his notebooks filled with numbers.
My Grandpa played the $1 lottery every day. My Mom even told me he played it when she was growing up and my Grandma would stay up and watch the news to tell him what the winning numbers were the next morning. Even though he only occasionally won his money back, I remember him filling notebooks with different number combinations until he finally chose what bubbles I got to fill in on his ticket. Garbage to most, but those notebooks full of numbers hold a special memory for me.
As my family continues to grow I am thankful that my children get to experience the love from their Grandparents. My husband did not have the chance to know any of his grandparents and until I met him I had taken these memories for granted. I don’t remember any toys they bought me or if we ever went to a fancy restaurant, instead I remember the moments of joy we had together and this is what I want for my children.
Someday I’m sure my kids will throw away the chipped sugar dish but for now we bring it to my parents’ house for every holiday and for a small moment in time it’s like he’s there with us, telling us that he has to hurry and get going a few short minutes after sitting down.