I used to listen to Jim Croce a lot. One of his most famous songs was Photographs and Memories. It’s s pretty song about looking back on a past relationship.

This past week has been spent going through the things that my in-laws left behind. There are clothes, dishes, several containers of odd nuts and bolts. There are also photographs. It’s been interesting to watch as each of my family members comes by the house to collect whatever keepsake or memento that they might want. Each piece tells a story to that person. To someone else, it’s just junk, but to the one who holds it dear, there’s a story in the item.

One nephew wanted some of Grandpa’s tools. Another was interested in a shirt. My great-niece really wanted the Bible that has Grandma and Grandpa’s names on the cover. Stories and memories out of “stuff”. It’s not so much the thing that has value as it is the memory that it holds. The things that we leave behind will help our memory to live on and help those who remember to…

–Rise Up