It's interesting the things we collect from the past and hold dear in the future. Trinkets and photos and good thoughts and bad ones, they all mound up in our keepsakes, kept for one reason or another. While cleaning out the attic of my humble abode I ventured upon several sweet memories. A Chinese checker board, buttons, and an old wooden clothes pin made me feel like I was in a game of iSpy. It was as if the photographer for the iSpy books took most of his acclaimed work in the attic of my new home. Through the heavy, black, insulation- I made my trek and it was well worth it. I spotted a catalog with a man on the front who resembled a 1950's ken doll. The catalog dated back to 1958 and was full of household necessitates, and stamped with the contact information for an old hardware store that use to reside where L & R Soda Bar does today. There were plenty of other artifacts, a back brace fit for a man of great stature and a mold of his upper body to prove it. Those were my least favorite finds. I also stumbled upon a hat box with a classic 1950's gentleman's hat prefect for the finest dinning or jazziest concert. There were antique wooden spools, not produced in the U.S. anymore, and other sewing tools. Mrs. Snead, was a seamstress, and it was evident by all the nick-knacks the attic held. After sweeping and cleaning and collecting all the rotten insulation from the rafters, my mom and I found a stack of letters. Now if you know anything about me, you know I love snail mail. I should have a line item listed "stationary" within my personal finances. I just love the personal touch a hand written letter gives. A few of the letters were minutes collected for a Methodist church in Bowling Green, KY. Some of the letters were bills and others held torn off pay stubs. These things are all that is left of the Snead family who once lived in this house. **Dear Jesus don't let me find ashes.
Realistically, they don't amount to much. These letters and trinkets will live in a shadow box in my bedroom hallway for all to see as a reminder that this old house has been well lived in. I hope to leave behind invitations to lavish dinner parties, and notes from spending time with my truest friend. I'd be crazy not to leave behind recipes for yummy desserts or scraps of the wallpaper I plan to display in the guest room.
At this point in my home renovation journey I can see that the hold-ups, the set-backs, they are all pit stops, they are all moments I have to reflect and to dream of what this house is to become. More than a box full of t.v. and sleep, I am creating a home. A home full of love and laughter and real people doing real life together- that is what I desire.
I look forward to seeing your face in my kitchen at the table, in the floor with my sweet pup and in the back yard counting stars, but most of all I hope you, yes you, take the chance to invite people into your lives, people to help you make memories and leave them behind in search for new ones. What will you leave behind in your attic?
*These photos were taken with an iPhone 8+