I am such Magpie.

“I've never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don't understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now.” ~ Sophia Loren



As we are going through Aughra's house to get it ready to sell. We are sorting thorough everybody's inheritance. Mine is dishes. I love dishes. I have ever since I was a small child. They always seemed like beautiful bits of our lives. Each thing holding a shining memory of an event or time.
The crystal Irish Coffee mugs with clovers etched on them hold the memory of the first time I felt elegant. I was drinking hot coco out of them. I remember feeling so grown up. The porcelain dolls I loved so much. They hold the memory of the time I tried to steal them when I was 4 or 5. I had them carefully wrapped up in some blankets and clothes when I got busted. They are also the things that taught me you can't take something just because you want it. The dainty star shaped dishes Aughra brought with her first ever paycheck. They always reminded her that she didn't need anybody to do for her. She can manage 'very well on her own, thank you!'
The memory of My great-grandmother's cookie jar all the way up on the top of her refrigerator. So very high up. I received it complete with pre-historic cookie crumbs.

The personal tea set that Aughra used to bring tea to my poor sick Mama-san when she was a little girl.

The teapots. All of the wonderful teapots. 20 in all. They used to resided the china cabinet they are in here. Then they lived on the top of Aughra's kitchen cabinets. About 10 years ago, Aughra decided it was time to put my teapots away. It had been ten years since I saw them last but as we unpacked them I knew which one was in each newspaper wrapped bundle. I told little stories about them as we unwrapped them.

So many memories. I brought each memory to my house. I pulled them out and polished them so they would gleamed brightly in their cabinets. I told Mini-me the story behind each item. As I put my families memories away, I tell her that someday these will be her memories to keep. And whether the story showed the person it was about in a good light or bad it made them real to Mini-me. Which is so important to me.