"One faces the future with one's past." - Pearl S. Buck
Time is an interesting thing: it can go by very quickly, yet very slowly, too. When we stay at my grandmother's house, it feels somewhat untouched by time. There are so many things that haven't changed in decades, and it creates a space full of memory. Most of the furniture has been there since I was a child. There's something about the quality of the light in that house that creates an atmosphere of nostalgia for me, perhaps because I can still visualize years of family visits and holidays spent there.
For some reason during our visit I decided to capture some images of the house. Although it feels a part of me, and I have wonderful memories made here, eventually that might fade. And I need to remember.
Some of my grandfather's things are still in the bathroom cabinet. He was an Old Spice man, so I had always wondered about the bottle of English Leather. When Dad saw this picture he speculated that it's probably left over from when HE wore this cologne as a young man. (!)
The crocheted dog toilet tissue cover.....it's a classic.
Several bells and collectibles they received as gifts at their 50th wedding anniversary.
My grandaddy's watches, including the one he wore in service during WWII, in an ashtray from the funeral business they owned.
If memory serves my grandparents were honored as Valentine King and Queen at a church function a few years before his death.
If these walls could talk.....for years I curled up with Grandma in her pink bedroom and whispered late into the night, sharing things I couldn't tell anyone else.
This old van seat covered in a blanket sits on the back porch. It was the place where my grandfather sat and smoked his cigarettes, then eventually his pipes stuffed with Prince Albert tobacco. There are probably a few of those familiar red cans around somewhere.
What does your parent's house look like? Your grandparent's? Do yourself a favor, grab your point and shoot, and snap some pictures. They don't have to be works of art. There will come a day when you'll be glad you did.