What we leave behind

I will start out this post by saying that I am not a materialistic person, that is not my point here.  I lost my grandmother about a year ago and am blessed that she left me some very nice things.  What I mean by this is I now have some of her possessions that most remind me of her.  While not really worth anything to the average person, their sentimental value to me is priceless.  The teapot we would have tea parties with when I was little, her TV trays we would play "jewelry store" with around the same time frame, a little silver ash tray she would leave change in for the paper boy to pay for the paper for the next week.  When I see all of these items, not only do they bring back some great memories of my childhood, but they are a part of her that I can have with me everyday.

I also inherited her cherry bed room set.  This is a beautiful four-poster bed with 2 gorgeous dressers that my grandmother wanted her whole life.  She scrimped and saved for these for many years and finally purchased them when she retired as a treat for herself.  I am incredibly honored that I was the one in the family that have these.  It is the bedroom set in my bedroom today.  It reminds me of my Gram when I turn my light off at night and when I hear the alarm in the morning.  Being that it is the most precious heirloom from my grandmother, one day when she is old enough, I will give it to my daughter.  I have known this for years.  My daughter was named after my grandmother (her middle name "Ruth") but she will also have something very personal of her great grandmother other than her name.

And that gets me thinking about what I will leave to my children.  Again, not materialistic but items that are special to me and therefore I want them to have a special place in their hearts too.  So I have thought this through, what goes to my daughter and what goes to my son.  I have not discussed this with anyone, because let's face it, it's morbid.  But I know my plan and what I want to have happen, when, god forbid, that time comes.  What I did not realize is that my husband has had this plan in the back of his mind too.  I just learned this fact recently.

The other night while changing my son's diaper, the subject of comic books came up.  My husband is an avid comic book reader and collector and has been his whole life.  He is constantly trying to add to his collection with rare books or replacing ones he lost years ago from too many moves in his youth.  The conversation led to the fact that all of his comic books are for my son.  He wants our son to have his entire collection.  This was the first time that I have ever heard this from my husband, but it really touched me.  You see if you know my husband, you will know how much his comics mean to him.  Much like with me and my grandmother, my husband wants our son to have some of his things that he is really proud of.  And I never knew it, should have guessed it, but it never crossed my mind.  At that moment it was all I could do to not swoon.

It just melts my heart to know that while I know what is important to me to leave to my children, my husband has been thinking that too.  As individuals it is important to us to leave the items that define our individuality to our children to truly remember who we are as people and not just as their parents.  And I think that is one of the best things we can pass on to our children.