Our newest Team Writer, Rosemary from Canada writes …’My husband says I’m a hopeless sentimentalist, a romance addict, a person who needs to focus more on what is real, the here and now.

 In my defense, I DO know reality.  I am living with who I am, where I am and how my life works.  It’s just that I think history is important–especially family history.  Knowing where we have come from and how we got to where we now find ourselves, is affirming to me.  My progenitors worked hard to get me here.  They left a legacy, of whatever sort they could, and I feel it behooves me to appreciate their efforts–an affirmation in reverse, if you will.

 All that to say, I’m reveling and wallowing in nostalgia this summer.

The Log Cabin (our cottage) was built in 1931 as a hunting shack, was later enlarged and added on to in the 1950’s and is a treasure-trove of family heirlooms and memorabilia.  Living here for the summer, I am digging out “ancient artifacts” left behind and collected by my Husband’s Father and Grandmother.  Since JSN passed away last November and we now own the cottage, I am free to dig away to my heart’s content.

Look at what I’ve found so far……

 

Old Silver and Baby Mugs…

 

 A Bride’s Biscuit Box (on the left) in which I now keep my tea bags to hide them from mice.

An old iron and a rusty pastry cutter.

A Spoon Collection, Cranberry Glass vases, tools, relic books, family bibles, and photographs.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE 1800’S!!

 I found a portrait of my Husband’s mother when she was 18 years old

A pic from 1938 of his father with his then high school sweetheart and later 2nd wife.

 Numerous photos of Hubby’s grandparents and great-grandparents.

Dog-tags and ribbons from WW I and WWII.

Ships in bottles.

Homecoming pennants.

Frat and Sorority mementos.

Fishing reels.

Horse Stable name plates.

Handmade pewter works.

Crewel and wood works.

A torn and partial family register, dating from 1802 to 1923.

 

Polishing the glass frames on old B&W and sepia photos, I made a collage and hung it where I get to appreciate them every day.  They give me a sense of belonging in the lineage, even though I married into it.

On another front….

Keeping busy over the past few rainy days, I’ve been piecing the top for a king-size quilt, using a sewing machine that belonged to my friend Lesley.

Dear Lesley lost her battle with breast cancer two summers ago.  She fought the good fight for seven years, showing me how to “live with cancer” and later how to “die with dignity”.  As one square lines up with another, Lesley and I have been having a good chat about various topics:  dealing with in-laws, out-laws, children and husbands, child-rearing, cooking and deep subjects like…the weather.

Am I living in the past?

Good question.

I think the answer is: NO.  I am reflecting on the past as I face the present and what comes next.

Since being “orphaned” this spring, I am contemplating what heritage, memorials and inheritance I am piling up for those who will come after me–my children, grands and great-grands.

Hopefully, I will leave more lasting treasures than the quilts and sweaters I make for them.

Have they learned love, dedication and honour from me?

Has my Christian Faith helped lead and guide them to seek God for themselves?

Photographs, maps, material objects are nice, but my mission, if I choose to accept it, is to lay up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust will corrupt, and to point the way for those who come after me to seek what is of lasting importance.

What heritage do you want to leave for future generations?

What are you keeping safe and laying up to pass on?’

Meet Rosemary.   Visit Rosemary’s Blog