3/3/10 Bunch of knick-knacks, trashed or recycledWas your grandmother involved in the Manhattan Project? I didn't think so.
Well, mine was.
Yeah, I've pretty much got the coolest grandmother on earth. Given that fact, perhaps you are all eager to join me in wishing my grandmother:
Happy 90th Birthday, Nanna!
I cannot begin to list the many things I've learned from her (including, as referenced in the above photo, how to play golf). She's such an amazing woman with such a fascinating life story that I've recorded about five hours of video interviews with her, which I hope to someday make into a family documentary. Sundance Film Festival, here we come.
One trait I certainly inherited from her is a propensity for hoarding.
We've long joked that if you venture into her basement -- no joke here, her basement has five separate rooms and an internal hallway -- you'd better go down there with a string attached so you can find your way back.
Looking at my own basement, I'm realizing that the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree.
And so, in honor of my grandmother entering her tenth decade, I collected all the knick-knacks from around the house, covered an entire table-top with them, and took a good, hard look. Nanna would NOT have done this. Sorry, I gotta be my own man at times.
Joanna and I eventually decided that about a third of the items, beloved and precious as they may be, could go immediately into the trash or recycle bin. That's the thing about knick-knacks: once you get over the sentimental attachment, you realize there is no other value.
We've kept the rest, but with the conviction that we still appreciate their true value.
Of course, the things of true value, as the bumper sticker says, aren't things at all. They're often people, like my grandmother. Now there's something worth holding on to.
One trait I certainly inherited from her is a propensity for hoarding.
We've long joked that if you venture into her basement -- no joke here, her basement has five separate rooms and an internal hallway -- you'd better go down there with a string attached so you can find your way back.
Looking at my own basement, I'm realizing that the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree.
And so, in honor of my grandmother entering her tenth decade, I collected all the knick-knacks from around the house, covered an entire table-top with them, and took a good, hard look. Nanna would NOT have done this. Sorry, I gotta be my own man at times.
Joanna and I eventually decided that about a third of the items, beloved and precious as they may be, could go immediately into the trash or recycle bin. That's the thing about knick-knacks: once you get over the sentimental attachment, you realize there is no other value.
We've kept the rest, but with the conviction that we still appreciate their true value.
Of course, the things of true value, as the bumper sticker says, aren't things at all. They're often people, like my grandmother. Now there's something worth holding on to.
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