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My mama had a cedar chest...it was her mama's before it was hers. She gave it to my brother a few years back....secretly I wanted it because it held lots of memories for me,but no hard feelings mind you...I am happy for my brother to have it....truly. Mama kept all her keepsakes in that cedar chest. Baby clothes her little ones had out grown over the years, first work sheets her children had brought home from school, things we six kids had made her through the years,our family bible. Even some things from her grandchildren as well. Old love letters,and Valentine boxes my daddy had given her , once upon a time! As a little girl I used to love looking into that old cedar chest and admiring all mama's treasures. I remember asking..Mama please...please, can I look in your old cedar chest. She usually let me, because I would stay there for the longest time,touching every little thing, then placing them right back like she had them. She kept a baby book for each one of her children. Pictures and birthday cards filled them full. Awe..old things...I have always loved old things. The smell of cedar on them...I can still recall that, even today. I have keepsakes of my own , clothes my babies wore, toys that were my children's favorites. I don't have a chest to keep my keepsakes in, but I know where they are when I want to remember when. I have all the little golden books I would read my children every night before bed. Their names are inside them, with their age when they received them. I am thinking I want my own cedar chest, thinking I will start a fund to save some money for one....that way I can keep all these special things together and when I am ready to reminisce I can go right to my very own chest and travel back in time...so to speak :) Sounds like a good plan...hope I can follow through with it. In the mean while I am going to be doing some more weeding in my home...I still have so much more than I truly need. I just need more energy to accomplish that task. Right at the moment, I have zip...energy. I think I need toothpicks to keep my eyes open while I type...OK,I am exaggerating a bit :) ,but truly I am pretty close to the truth..lol
I found this picture below on google...it is very similar to mama's chest. Isn't it pretty?
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My chest that I find may not be cedar at all, it won't be a " Hope Chest " done been there, done that :) , but it will be a "Remembrance Chest "of sorts! Some where to store all those things that hold a special memory for me....maybe I will bring them out once a year or so, and touch them and just remember what used to be....loving...good memories are the best! You know...in a way we all have a special place within us where we store such memories.
Blessings...Shelley
10 comments:
Sweet story Shelley!
It was fun reading about you and the treasures in your mom's cedar chest. I can just imagine you as a little girl, going through all of the treasures it held. I hope a cedar chest will come your way very soon.
My grandparents, who lived in the country, had an old trunk that sat in their house next to the old pot bellied wood-burning stove they heated with. The trunk originally belonged to my great grandma, and it has a ding in the wood where my mom and her cousin cracked walnuts on the top of it when it sat out on a porch when she was a little girl.
My grandpa brought the trunk up from the country to my mom shortly before he died. As my dad and I refinished it, we discovered that the lock mechanism was dated either 1868 or 1864. I used it as my hope chest and to this day it sits in my living room.
Precious post, Miss Shelley. I have a cedar chest but it is mostly filled with extra linens and such. We live in a very small house so storage space is in short supply. You have inspired me to dig out the plastic tubs that hold all the things, I have kept over the years, and begin putting them in my newly renamed, "Remembrance Chest". I am also inspired to purchase a chest for my grand daughter and fill it with her own memories, as well as a few handmade things I will make for her.
Thank you for sharing this.
Grace & Peace
Oh Shelley, we share so many of the same kind of memories. So often my mama and I would look through her cedar chest. She would take that trip down memory lane and share the stories with me. I was blessed to bring it home after her death, maybe it's time to sit and go through it with my own daughter. Your post has brought a tear and a smile to me today! Thank you.
I always wanted a 'hope' chest, too. I like your idea of it being a memory chest better. I hope you find a special one someday. I will be praying for your energy, Shelley. Love, Twyla
Grand Daddy had a cedar chest at the foot of his bed, he kept all the watches he worked on, on the lift up tray that came up when you opened the lid. Not sure who ended up with that. My mom's was cedar, Daddy bought for her, she kept all my Grand Mother's quilt tops in it, and birthday cards from a certain man who sent one to her her whole adult life, even when my Daddy was married to her. After she had to move to assisted living, then the nursing home, we found stacks ad stacks of those cards, it had gone on for over forty years. Nothing much written in them, except his name and a simple birthday wish. His family said when he had died, that he had done this for countless people for years, men and ladies. He was just a good, kind, caring Christian man. I wish my sister had not tossed out the old cards. I miss them, and the love of my Mom that treasured them for years. My sister does have the chest, who I do know there has to be some quilts or tops in it, even today, but I have not seen it in over a decade.
My father had a small woodden trinket box that he kept little treasures in for us to look at when we were children and then for his grand children to see...
I like your idea of a 'remembrance' box...
Blessings .... Barb xx
I always wanted one, but never had one. Maybe someday I too will find a rememberance chest..treasure chest. The one you have pictured is lovely.
Oh Shelley, this sounds like a lovely idea! I've also had on my mind lately to set aside, in one place, very special keepsakes for my children, and future grandchildren. A cedar chest would be lovely.
Thank you for sharing this, and for the inspiration. I pray you will be feeling better soon.
Blessings,
Kim
You'll find one and it will be perfect for all of your precious things. I finally got one just a few years ago and it's fun to look inside at my kid's stuff and the few things I have of my own. Sweet hugs my friend!
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