Tradition or A Pastime?

I was recently part of a good conversation with some ladies; we talked about the 'oldest' things in our houses. The general consensus was that we have keepsakes from our parents, our grandparents, and even great-grandparents. We have old dishes (mostly fine china ... that didn't come from China), old furniture, heirloom jewelry, and numerous nostalgic black and white photos. Why do we hold on to the older items? Because of the memories? Because of the traditions? Because we like old, dusty stuff and we are secret-hoarders, lol? All good questions.

The funny thing is as we sat in a circle discussing the items we had and who we acquired them from, some of us had a shared conclusion that 'none of our kids seem to want OUR saved stuff'. We hold on to these items because they are part of our history and shared legacies with our families, yet we are under the delusion that we are saving all these items to pass on and share with our own children and grandchildren. We have hopes that they will appreciate what we appreciate, but seemingly many of them do not and we must accept that. Many of the items we hold on to were part of a different time. A time when most material things were made well, not to be replaced in a few years with a newer model. To acquire these 'things' families scrimped and saved. The items were built to last, were appreciated, and used ... a lot ...and for many years. Families sat at their tables 'together' for meals. Families listened to old turntables together and sang out loud. Grandmothers passed their pearls on to their daughters and granddaughters to wear on their wedding days. One lady suggested that the current generation is more minimalistic. I get that and would agree with it more if I didn't know first hand all of the matchbox cars, building kits, beanie babies, and instruments that have been saved in my house over the years. But as one of the ladies questioned, 'Why wouldn't they want our stuff? We have GOOD stuff!' Yet, times have changed. Most everything today seems to be about replacing it in a year or two with a newer, fancier, or just repackaged version.

Traditions are seemingly learned practices that are passed on from generation to generation. Pastimes are things we do as a hobby or for enjoyment. Some people would say they are able to honor both; they appreciate the quality and the history of the old. Some of us will come across something in our basement and offer it to our children and they'll say, 'No thanks', but they'll go to vintage stores and antique shops to look for something old. Seriously, they could save a lot of money if they'd just take some of our stuff, lol. At least then the history behind the item would be in the form of a family story, rather than a mystery as told by a sales clerk. On the other hand if we gave them something that was meaningful to us and they cut it half or painted over it, there would probably be a little part of our heart that would cry (but then hopefully we would be open-minded and get over it).

I pride myself on having readers from various demographics, so here are some questions for you. IF you are 'more mature in age' (I hope that is politically correct so I haven't offended anyone, lol), what kinds of things are you holding on to and why? More importantly, are you displaying or using the items or are they being stored in a box on a shelf in the back corner of your storage room? IF you are on the younger side is there anything you hope to have handed down to you some day? What would it be and who would it be from? What is the special memory attached to it.