What will you leave behind, when you .. well you know..?

[SoCalDem]

For me.. There were a few tangible things that I had always thought I would pass on to my kids, but sadly most of them are gone now.. (not the kids, the treasures)..

My inherited jewelry (extremely valuable and sentimental stuff) was stolen, and my antique porcelain doll (from 1868)that a favorite aunt left me, had her head crushed, in an unfortunate "kitty" accident..

I have a huge cookbook collection that no one will want..

I have already given my oldest a huge china cabinet..complete with the china & crystal that was my grandmother's and some from my mother-in-law..

There's always the boxes and boxes of clothing of various sizes and fads..

And there is always my extensive purse collection.. Too bad I have only sons :(..

I also have probably the largest collection of pens in the world.. (I exaggerate, but I cannot resist them :eyes..)

There are literally rooms and rooms, and boxes of "stuff".. I know I should get rid of lots of it, but as a grown-up, I have wistfully thoought of things I wish I had never thrown out or donated..

Two of my sons are the sentimental type, and the other is a minimalist, so there is some doubt as to what they would even want..

There is nothing sadder than the garage sale of someone who has passed away.. When my beloved aunt died, my sister supervised the "sale", and I could not bear to watch as strangers picked up stuff that she was so proud of and asked "Will you take 50 cents for this"?..

I actually claimed a bunch of stuff and spent almost $300 in UPS charges for things I will never use, but could not bear to see sold.

Don't know why I am thinking of this today..

[radwriter0555]

1. I will leave good memories behind. Stuff is irrelevent. I will leave

beauty behind, in the things I've created, art-wise.. the tile-mosaic work; the landscaping on various properties.

The home I'm designing to build in Mexico... will be lovely.

Trees I've planted, a park I helped build, a senior center I helped build... a senior citizen day care I helped establish.

That's the only stuff I want to leave behind.

[Bunny]

2. Gee SoCal, you seem so down today.

This isn't like you. But sometimes we all get melancholy. I am guessing you will leave your sons with wonderful memories of their adored mother, and no amount of stuff can compare with that. Sorry about your antique doll, though. That had to hurt!:hug:

[lovedems]

3. 4 totally awesome and terrific boys.

They are my legacy and I tend to see to it that are the best they can be.

They are so great already, I don't have alot of work to do.

Have I told you how great my boys are?

[Lars39]

4. Let your kids choose now.

What may be precious in terms of memories might not be what you would think. And if you're OK with it, let the spouses choose, too. Grandkids still might wind up with your stuff. I'm not into possessions that much(like grandma's pickle dish or whatever), but the items that hold personal memories for me are valuable to me. :)

[SoCalDem]

5. They are doing that.. but I am talking about the "other" stuff

I know that they will have good memories.. I wish we had been better picture takers, but we moved alot and 3 boys within 5 years, added to the fact that I am incredibly lazy...well you get the idea..

I still find rolls of film here and there.. :eyes:

[Lars39]

7. Sounds like us. Moved so often, all I could keep up with was cookware.

I found a roll of film. I know had to be at least from 5 yrs ago.
Shoot, with 3 boys within 5 yrs, you were doing good to get the occasional shower! :)

[SoCalDem]

8. About a year ago I found a pair of jeans in a box

They needed hemming.. Still pinned up.. Size 6x... My youngest "boy" is 25 :)

now THAT is procrastination :)

[Lars39]

9. heh. The oldest hemjob I've found was about 3 yrs old.

[lovedems]

10. We had 4 boys in 4 years. I hear you about the pictures.

We finally invested in a digital camera so our youngest doesn't grow up thinking he was adopted!

Developing film was always a pain in the ass for us. I would wait until we had about 10 rolls, forget what was on each roll and then decide it was to expensive to get them all developed. If anybody ever saw my pile, they would think I am a collector of used camera film. I have been bad!

[markus]

6. Two absolutely fabulous children

The rest is probably disposable.

[BiggJawn]

11. Dust bunnies and a bunch of useless shit...

That my daughter will have to cart to the dump. I hope she puts SOME of it on eBay, it might be worth something....

[Adams Wulff]

12. SoCalDem, your life sounds like mine...

I too have had some pretty awesome stuff, some of it stolen, some of it I was forced to part with (that stuff usually gets replaced when found again), and some of it sold to pay the rent.
I still miss that E.F. Payne bamboo fly rod from a few years back. But it made for a great story.
I suppose that is really what I will leave my progeny, my stories. Something they can tell their grandkids, and give them a sense of a history, a sense of belonging. One of my greatest regrets is not having sat down with my grandfather to hear his story. As a first generation Pole, right off the boat in 1930 or so, I'll bet he had some stories.
So once again, I will start a journal, (the first one was stolen) and promise to try to write neater in this one.

[SoCalDem]

13. Or a tape recorder

easy way out :)