Boxes, sparkles and keepsakes
posted: Jun 15, 01:57 AM
The subject line says it all. I could almost stop writing now. I have been collecting boxes since I was a little girl. The interesting thing about this habit, is, I didn’t know I was collecting anything until I was an adult.
The box collection began when my father’s cousin started sending them at Christmas time. I was not what one would describe as a girly girl, so didn’t have a great appreciation of what I considered to be a funny idea for a present. I wish my Aunt Grace was alive today to see what she had started!
In my early twenties I began noticing and appreciating these little keepsakes. I found the containers very appealing and pretty. I decided to add to my Aunt’s gifts. Among the collection she had begun were delicate little china containers and a beautifully carved octagonal wooden box.
I now have many special boxes. I have three tiny soapstone boxes which I found in Chinatown in Toronto. One has the tiniest, most intricate pattern cut out on the sides, another has a design inset in the lid. I have an old mysterious metal box whose base is long gone, but it is topped with and surrounded by the loveliest enamel. I have a mossy green soapstone box, which I think was originally designed to hold cigarettes for party guests. I have a healthier use for this box, I keep tea lights in it. It was my Father’s.
I have a little wooden chest which was carved and painted in Mexico. A friend of mine gave it to me when I was sick. She wanted me to have part of her with me on bad days. Lorraine died six years ago, part of her is with me. Mexico was her refuge.
I have two powder compacts which belonged to my Grandma. I treasure these as they are my only keepsake from her.
My sister gave me a little round silver container which she found in Dubai. It sparkles when the light hits it just so.
My little boxes, containers whatever they may be, protect the tiny things which hold some of my greatest memories. My daughter’s baby teeth, which I told her the tooth fairy had wanted me to keep so left them with the money under her pillow. Her baby curls which I couldn’t leave on the floor after her first haircut. Both my dogs’ baby teeth which usually came out on my hand. When they were teething and their mouths hurt they used to gently chew on my hands. The amethyst heart my parents gave me for my thirteenth birthday. Pretty shells, unusual beach glass, a small rock shaped like a heart, stamps from far away places…
My memories.