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Home is where you find a lifetime of memories
Last weekend our family took a friend for a ride on
the Niles Canyon Railway in Sunol. As I enjoyed the
scenery, I developed a new appreciation for the history
of the train and also for the area I call home. History
helps up make sense of our place in the world, and
I began thinking about the family history that resides
within the walls of our homes. Our homes are where
a lifetime of family stories, memories, events and
traditions are created.
Some of our memories are captured in special items
inherited from relatives. For example, I have a beautiful
wooden rocking chair that once belonged to my grandmother.
When I sit in it, I am reminded of all the songs she
sang to me as a child. I rocked my own two babies to
sleep in that chair, and so, as time has gone on, new
memories have been created. I'm convinced that my son
inherited his love of singing from my grandmother.
My other grandmother gave me a favorite china doll
that was hers as a child, and today I wear her treasured
engagement ring. Those items remind me of happy times
playing dolls and dress-up together with her.
Many special events take place in people's dining
rooms. Families celebrate birthdays, anniversaries
and holidays together in this room. But even everyday
dinners can be special when you use your best dishes
and linens. My mother has my grandmother's lovely set
of china, with their delicate pink flowered border.
My mother doesn't save her "good china" for
once-a-year occasions like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
She uses it frequently, such as when my brother and
I bring our families for dinner. When you use and enjoy
pieces with family history, you help keep memories
alive.
Looking around my own home for more family history,
I immediately think of the wall in our hallway that
marks the growth of my two children. There are pencil
marks and dates showing the neck-and-neck competition
they have had with each other for years. My daughter
is older and still a little bit taller, but my son
has almost caught up to her. And both of them will
catch up to me in no time.
Also in our hallway is a gallery of family photos.
Not only do we have many photos of our own kids, but
we also have baby photos of our parents, grandparents
and siblings. Seeing all of those beautiful babies
always puts a smile on my face.
Sure to become a treasured item in my home is the
stained glass pantry door that my artistic daughter
designed for me. We selected the colors for it together,
and I love the way it looks in my new kitchen. A paper
sunflower that she made for me in second grade lives
on my kitchen windowsill.
Family history abounds within the walls of every home.
Every photo, every heirloom, every gift lovingly given--
all of these help capture a lifetime of special memories.
This article first appeared in Alameda Newspaper
Group papers on Oct. 24, 2005.
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back to the list of decorating columns.
All articles copyright 2003-2008 Anna
Jacoby.
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