Planning For the Future

I am in the same boat. Hubby and I are the caretakers of many family artifacts from both sides, plus the things I have accumulated during our tenure here, including the three (!) newest oils I bought last week! None of our children particularly like the Southwest culture–the art, the architecture, the jewelry or rugs or pottery. We have tons and tons. I can see a day when I have to sell so much of these things that I love and take care of, as well as the china, silverware, crystal, furniture, etc., that we have inherited from family. I don’t know what I’ll do, because none of the children want any of this stuff.

let my name go to the four winds and my soul to rest. but yes, i do wish i knew my grandmother’s parents. and theirs. i know only of what my mother told me of her mother and her motherinlaw..as both of the were dead when i was a child, so yes, i do agree with you that the most important part of who we are is who we were.

With a different attitude, our friend Duck, last in his family with no one to care, said: “Why caretake dead people’s stuff.” And that is a truism. If you don’t want or need something, it will just weight you down. While getting the will, get a medical and durable power of attorney that will include taxes.

I found your journal when I popped in to OD and was reading the snippets of new entries while waiting for the OD site to remember it was suppose to do something, like log me in 🙂 I love the idea of the spreadsheet. My mother, who is 87, has asked each of her grandchildren to come and select something of hers. She then placed their names on the back of whatever and it awaits. Nice to meet you!

I recognise the first one… I must say… a bizzare feeling to see a painting of somewhere I have been… and from exactly the same viewpoint.

I don’t know what to do about ‘things’. Like Scarlett O’Hara, I will think about them tomorrow.

I’m sure you will be remembered fondly. So many people have so much fun when you are around.

Your journals have a significance that gives them a wider audience than your family. / Not having had children changes things, doesn’t it. Also frees us. Today I heard that national public radio is laying off 10% of its staff!! I only wish I had millions to give to them! / I’m sorry you’re forced to do this while you’re grieving. Very good you have your NYC road trip upcoming. / Your family paintings are beautiful, whether valuable or not, and I like that they have significance to your roots. / ryn: You put your finger on it in your comment about the problems in the Middle East. / I think of you each and every day. Please put the sad stuff down if drags you down, won’t you?

I like all of those paintings a lot. We do not have a lot of artwork in our home, but I wish we did – especially work that had been in the family, but unfortunately, a lot of the pieces I was interested in belonged to my grandmother. My uncle lived in her house after she died, and sold a lot of her things without telling the rest of the family. I know there are other artifacts, and my mom does have a few, but I do hope that someday I will have at least a piece or two that belonged to my grandmother (or her family). There is just something about having even one material thing to connect the family over the generations.

It’s a moment in time. People might be interested, or not. I’ve always been interested in my distant relatives, as they’re all from Germany and eastern Europe (my parents emigrated here in 1958). Your people came over fairly recently, too. I think a lot of people who are fairly new to this country are more cognizant of their history. But I could just be generalizing. Those items would bevaluable to a lot of people, not just family. I do like the way you are doing things. We’ve talked to my mom about the same stuff. Although just us 3 children will inherit the financial wealth, I want all the grandchildren existing at the time of her demise to be able to come to the house and pick out stuff. I’m lucky that my brothers feel the same way. But we have a sort of system like the one you suggested, we will all be there and go through all the stuff (or if someone can’t I’ll ask them what they want) and we’ll go from there. I’m more concerned with mementos and art, like what you are dealing with, than with furniture. That’s where the true value lies.