Showing posts with label sentiments. Show all posts

Treasure Chest

I've got a chest of treasures. It's one of my life's grandest possessions. The contents contained in this beautiful French inscribed butterfly box are of priceless value.

Now before you go all pirate like on me, and set you up a crew like the Goonies, I must warn you the "X' that marks the spot on this map, is firmly planted within 4 chambers. Sentimental rewards.

I feel very privileged to have so many wonderful heirlooms to hold on to and hopefully pass down to my children, adding a part my personal history as well.

Here's a peek inside:
 My great grandfather's (maternal) Camera: This is a 1970's Keystone Everflash 10 camera. It's mainly brown with some tan bordering. It has a 40mm lens and shoots at f8. It's still kept in it's original box with paper work.What's extra cool is my great grandfather some how engraved his signature and social security number into the camera. What a super awesome personal touch!
My grandmother's (maternal) Camera an carrying case: This is a 1965 Agfa Agfamatic 126 camera by Kodak. It's in a black leather case. That my grandmother wrote her name in pen inside. The outside of the case looks like it has white splats of paint on it. I don't know how it happened, but I will ask her, thankfully she is still living. She's in her 90's.
My mother's Camera flash and lens: The lens is a Vivitar  auto 2600. It has an exposure range of 3-300ft. It has f/stops of 2 and 4. The lens is a Vivitar series 1, 90mm macro lens.
My grandmother (paternal) sunglasses & earrings: Just some vintage wide-eyed vintage sunglasses. The earrings are a pair of bronze metal earrings with multiple colors on the front.

My great grandfather's (maternal) watch: A small gold Seiko wrist watch. I was 11 years old when my great grandfather was on his death bed. He called me into the room and told me he wanted me to have this. I didn't know how to respond. I didn't fully understand the extent of what was going on. But I thanked him very much. Now, I realize this watch is a women's watch and wonder who it belonged to.
A Childhood baseball: Just a random baseball I got from a dollar store as a kid. But I got my family members to sign for fun. So it's a souvenir of sorts.
The twins pacifiers: Personalized pacifiers of the babies. Neither of them really took a pacifier when they were young, but we had these made before they were born in the colors we planned on dressing them in to tell them apart.

My collage tassel: My tassel from Kaplan University. Associates in Early Childhood Education.

A picture my daughter Laila drew: I don't remember how young she was but I know she was a lot younger, and she drew herself and wrote that she loves me.

A few photos: Pictures and ID cards of the kids and a few of me and my wife when we first got together.

Navy Coins: My wife actually gave me these, but I may save them for the kids.

Do you have any family treasures? I'd love to hear about them!

Grandma's Gift


Family. It's one of life's finest treasures.
It's what made moving so hard.

You would think I would be settled by now, but the truth is I'm not. I've gotten a little more comfortable than I was initially, but I still have my reserves. On my recent trip home I visited my grandmother. The sweetest person I've ever known, and one of the most spiritual and loving person's you'd ever meet. To be honest, she's the one person, I look up to the most in the entire world. My go to person when I'm feeling low, in search of advice, or just need a little extra TLC. She just puts my soul at ease when I'm around her.

Now, I could go on and on about my grandmother, but well, I think you get the gist of where I'm coming from. Anyway, as I was leaving grandma's house(after giving her hugs and kisses of course)...she stopped me and said "I just wish I had something to give you. You know, I just wanna give you a gift or something, something you can say you got from your grandma."

 I smiled and thought, what a sweet thing to say, (I wish she could understand that her presence is a gift in itself).  For some odd reason as I waving her off, I looked down on her porch and saw several pots of plants, and at the edge of the step was a baby plant that had been misplaced. Now it wasn't dead or anything, frankly I have no idea how it even got out of the pot...but something told me it was the perfect gift.

I picked it up and upon returning to my sisters house, wet a paper towel and placed it in a plastic bag. My flight was leaving in the morning, so I figured it should be safe until then. I placed the tiny plant inside my carry on bag, checking on it repeatedly during the flight home, and smiling each time.

When I arrived home, I found a small pot and some soil.  I feel like I have my grandmother with me and things are just a tad bit easier. Thank you grandma, I love you.
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