Things Kids Really Want to Inherit This blog was inspired by a friend who told me her garage is filled with \u201cstuff\u201d and she finds it hard to let go of it all because her kids may want some of those things. I told her I was so grateful for downsizing and to be living in a \u201cless-is-more\u201d attitude. My sis and I had an estate sale business. We came across plenty of collectibles, heirlooms and stuff that “Boomer” parents have been amassing and can’t wait to unload it on their offspring. What we found were most of their offspring wanted nothing to do with their parents\u2019 physical and emotional clutter.
We usually found there was a happy middle ground. Some of the children were actually interested in some of the stuff \u2014 but typically only in small amounts, and mostly the stuff that’s long on memory and short on size. Honestly, \u201cstuff\u201d isn\u2019t what the next generation usually wants. It\u2019s more about the deeper longing for the stuff that’s enwrapped in family memories. We learned that photos matter, but less is more. What our kids don\u2019t want are the 140 family photo albums that date back to the Civil War. But they do want a few that hold special family memories. It needs to be THEIR memories, not OURS.
My mother-in-law noted that when one of her children or grands would say \u201cI love that bowl or knick-knack or collectible,\u201d she\u2019d label that item underneath with that one\u2019s name. When she downsized to her daughter\u2019s home, she passed those items on to the name-holder. I have several of those items. The things that mean most are the small items that we remember our loved ones actually using. It\u2019s part of our family\u2019s history.
We found that the strongest memories of all come from Christmas — like a nativity set or ornament. Our children want that memory. Recipes and recipe books are a big deal, also. And, even better, are the actual handwritten recipe cards from mother or grandmother. I still remember my mom taking the cards out and using them while she cooked. I treasure seeing my mom\u2019s handwriting that is undeniable. Those cards are irreplaceable.
When my husband passed on in November, Christmas was coming. I knew I wanted to pass on some of Papa\u2019s things for each one of our six grandchildren. I spent days rummaging through my sweetheart\u2019s treasures and items that represented who he was. I gathered the items together and strategically placed them in six very fine treasure boxes. There were fishing tackle items, measuring tapes that represented Papa\u2019s ability to build and restore; one of Papa\u2019s hankies, one of his pocket knives, Smarties candies (he always had a package in his pocket for the grands); one of his crosses, a pair of his glasses and one of his watches, sports pins, breath freshener strips (Papa was adamant about good-smelling breath). And, a photo of that grandchild and Papa. Not much in monetary value \u2013 but each grand still has their Papa\u2019s box in their possession.
Because I have been there, my blog today is for those who are hanging onto stuff \u2013 in attics, closets, and storages. I hope what I\u2019ve said helps you to let go, make space and save the most cherished possessions. And, while I\u2019m talking about cherished possessions, I pray that you know what matters most are the treasures and memories of faith, those things that matter most in the light of eternity. The prayer times together. The times of being in church together. The times of trusting God in the midst of the storms. The times of happy tears being shed because of answered prayers and the birth of a baby or a marriage. Especially, the stories of God\u2019s faithfulness. Those are the things our children really want to inherit.
Here\u2019s what God says about it! \u201cThese commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.\u201d (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) These are the treasures and collectibles that matter most \u2013 those moments that count and live way past \u201cthe stuff\u201d!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Things Kids Really Want to Inherit This blog was inspired by a friend who told me her garage is filled with \u201cstuff\u201d and she finds it hard to let go of it all because her kids may want some of those things. I told her I was so grateful for downsizing and to be living…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21802,21803,15696],"tags":[1210,21793,1769,10976,21791,21801,21798,6908,21792,40,21790,450,21794,12932,21795,21797,21799,21796,21800,3261],"class_list":["post-14968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collectibles","category-heirloom","category-inheritance","tag-blog","tag-boomer-parents","tag-christian","tag-christmas-memories","tag-collectibles","tag-deuteronomy-66-7","tag-familys-history","tag-gods-faithfulness","tag-heirlooms","tag-inspiration","tag-kids-inherit","tag-light-of-eternity","tag-middle-ground","tag-offspring","tag-on-on-memory","tag-photos-matter","tag-recipes","tag-short-on-size","tag-storages","tag-treasures"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14968"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14970,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14968\/revisions\/14970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}