When I Turn 80

I remember my mom giving me one of her favorite items when she turned 80. I have it in my curio cabinet now, but for years I displayed it on the mantle in my previous home. She purchased it from the Franklin Mint. It’s a music box that plays Ave Maria.

It is just a “thing.” It only brings back a memory when I look at it, which isn’t that often. I don’t know who might want it if I die, or if I decide to pass it on. My oldest daughter doesn’t believe in keeping “things” because there is a tie to the past. Not sure how my other two daughters feel about such things.

I don’t hoard things just because they hold memories, but there are a few things that make me smile when I pull them out of their “storage” spaces. Times have changed a lot from my grandparents generation and even my mother’s generation. “Things” from the past aren’t important to them. Estate sales and auctions show families aren’t holding onto items of the past.

This morning I was looking at a piece given to me many years ago. It was handmade by my oldest daughter and her ex-husband. I have kept it, though it doesn’t fit the decor of my condo. My thought was to ask my granddaughter if she would be interested in having it since it was made by her mom and dad.

I’m not sure what will happen to the “things” I leave behind. Will I begin trying to gift them before I die? I smile as I think how I have downsized tremendously in the last four years. I don’t want my children to have to sort through years and years of memories after I’m gone. I remember how difficult it was for my mother to get rid of her things when she came to live with us. We brought as much as possible, but I got rid of almost everything unusable after she passed and I downsized.

Ah, life. We cannot take things with us when we die. And our memories are not dependent on “things.” Yet, I look at the music box from my mama with hope that it will end up in the possession of someone who will care for it as I do. What will I do after I turn 80?Lifting my cup of tea with a smile as I listen to the tune of Ave Maria.