Emblems/talismans from your childhood -- do you bring them forward to your DCs?

[dcmom2b3]

The title probably conveys more gravitas than warranted.

Out and about today, I found a pair of pink suede Primigi desert boots, barely worn, at a local kids' consignment shop. In DD's size. I snapped them up in a heartbeat. Even though she technically doesn't need them, she's not un-shod at the moment, it was really important to me that she have them, at some kind of instinctual level.

It got me thinking, are the desert boots important b/c they remind me of my dad (who insisted that I had sturdy footwear to follow him about in the woods and yard)? That my desert boots were the bestest shoes ever? Answer: Um, he!! yeah.

The fact that they're pink would have made grandpa say in his south-Georgia accent "heh-heh-heh! Gurl, those purty pink shus are gonna get durty out in the gaaaarden! Better spray 'em first." (Dad always had sprays for stuff -- repelling dirt, water, insects . . .)

Anyway, no real question to be answered here. Just curious about others' "aha!" moments, when the past and present come together. In other words, am I the only overly sentimental one among us?

[MamaKath]

No, I am so sentimental about little things. The kids know if I am having a bad day to offer me the special spoon. They have been offered it so many times themselves and heard the story that they now say "Mama, it'll make you feel better. You'll think of your grandma and how she made your chocolate milk with it!"

They each also have a special painting in their rooms painted by my Grandma (she was a wonderful artist!!). DS has mine which is more primary colors and dd was given one by a cousin of mine (made for her as a little girl) in more pinks and girly tones.

I can probably think of a bunch of others, I am the same way- a smell, something little that reminds me of _____, spending time at the cottage, the road trips to see the family, etc. I figure it is giving the kids the roots of their family and working towards the wings to fly! Hope your dd enjoys the boots!!!

[MontrealMum]

No, I don't think it's odd or silly at all. I hear my mom's voice, and sometimes, my grandmother's, in my head all the time. The good stuff - not the bad! And I do work hard to try and pass down things (not specifically material ones, but things like certain songs or recipes, drinking Manhattans )...especially since DH's childhood was quite f*cked up, and his parents are so darn remote. Watching DS with my mom is really something wonderful. It's made me appreciate her more (we have issues), and it also makes me think about my grandparents (her parents) who I was extremely close to and miss a lot, and all the fond memories of my time with them; it also makes me cry, but in a good way. I am rambling, but I think this kind of sentimentality is a good thing, not a bad one.

[gatorsmom]

oh my gosh, I"m so sentimental that sometimes I'm afraid I live too much in the past. We go camping at my dad's land because I have so many good memories from going there as a girl and I want to "pass those on to my kids." Nearly all my kids' names are family names. I have a hard time getting rid of anything that belonged to a dead family member. Or that a dead family member gave me. My mom gave me a big plastic bowl with some matching single serving ones for popcorn in college. That was nearly 20 years ago. I still have it (it's in great shape, though, and I still use it for salads or mixing recipes). I have a HUGE scrape box. HUGE. And it's just full of little things I think will bring back memories. Which is practically any outing I have to pay for .

But my packrat-ness also extends to memorable times in my life. I have letters from old boyfriends, little things tucked into my diaries, etc.

I've really analyzed why I am so sentimental and why I save so many things for sentimental reasons and I have come to the conclusion that it's all an attempt to understand myself and my loved ones', past, present and future, better.

Besides, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to come across things I've forgotten about that carry a happy memory with them.

[blisstwins]

OP: Your post made me teary. My father died when my twins were just babies. My fondest memories are of him in her desert/chuka boots and I buy a pair for my son every year just because it makes me feel so good to see him in there.
I constantly take my children places and talk to them about the people I loved. I want them to know them and to have connections. When I make their calendars every year I add photos of them with my dad, great grandfather and aunt, all of whom died within the first year or two of my children's lives. I want them to stay in my children's memory. Just today I took my children to an event at the HS my grandmother, and my daughter's namesake, went to. I think these kinds of things, however small, are so important.

[ciw]

When I make their calendars every year I add photos of them with my dad, great grandfather and aunt, all of whom died within the first year or two of my children's lives.

I LOVE this idea!!! I will definitely be stealing it!
Yeah, I'm a sentimentalist too. Which is why my DS at this very moment is hugging my old Drowsy doll. And you should see my attic...or maybe you shouldn't....

[dcmom2b3]

OP: Your post made me teary. My father died when my twins were just babies. My fondest memories are of him in her desert/chuka boots and I buy a pair for my son every year just because it makes me feel so good to see him in there.
I constantly take my children places and talk to them about the people I loved. I want them to know them and to have connections. When I make their calendars every year I add photos of them with my dad, great grandfather and aunt, all of whom died within the first year or two of my children's lives. I want them to stay in my children's memory. Just today I took my children to an event at the HS my grandmother, and my daughter's namesake, went to. I think these kinds of things, however small, are so important.

Oh, don't cry unless you invite me too! Tons of chuka-boot-wearing love coming your way!

[ThreeofUs]

Oh, my gosh, so yes. My family has almost completely disintegrated since my mom died - she was the gatherer, the talker, the smoother of feathers, the maven of good feelings. Even so, I carry lots of things forward. My kids both have names of family members, pictures of family (alive and not), furniture and art made by family, things that have been handed down through generations, and a whole lot of non-materials (immaterials? nah!) that we talk about all the time.

DH and I value connections to family pretty highly. As we are both late children, and our kids are late for their "generation", too, we try our best to give them links to the past. They will have met only two of and remember maybe one of their grandparents; so we feel we have to be sure to give them roots.

[dcmom2b3]

No, I am so sentimental about little things. The kids know if I am having a bad day to offer me the special spoon. They have been offered it so many times themselves and heard the story that they now say "Mama, it'll make you feel better. You'll think of your grandma and how she made your chocolate milk with it!"

They each also have a special painting in their rooms painted by my Grandma (she was a wonderful artist!!). DS has mine which is more primary colors and dd was given one by a cousin of mine (made for her as a little girl) in more pinks and girly tones.

This is too cool for words.

[MontrealMum]

I just realized that I implied that I was passing my grandma's love for Manhattans down to DS...obviously, not yet...I meant me I am also very excited because when we finally move (no, no plans yet ) my mom is going to paint DS' walls with animals and such. It's what she did for me and my cousin, and I am very excited that she's still able/willing with all her carpal tunnel and other health issues. I think that having a sense of sentimentality, and our roots is really a part of having not only a sense of history, but also a sense of self, and our place in that history. Of course, I may be a bit biased on that one