Word Wednesday- Heirloom

Today's word is heirloom. I've been writing recently about things I'm letting go of, but this post is about things that I am happy and  honored to be keeping. Things that will be passed down to my children and grandchildren. 

So...heirloom, defined.

heir·loom  

n.

1. A valued possession passed down in a family through succeeding generations.

2. An article of personal property included in an inherited estate.

3. A cultivar of a vegetable or fruit that is open-pollinated and is not grown widely for commercial purposes. An heirloom often exhibits a distinctive characteristic such as superior flavor or unusual coloration.

(I like that even the definition applying to 'heirloom fruit or vegetables' conveys the feeling of privilege for having something "superior" or "unusual", something that isn't found every day.)

A few of my heirlooms....

The marbles my dad won from his friends during recess in elementary school. They are inside my great grandmother's pitcher. She lived on a farm in Kentucky and I can just see her filling this pitcher with fresh milk or sweet tea.

On the left: the afghan made by my grandmother and given to me for a Christmas gift. It now resides in Asher's room :)  Top right: I watched my mother-in-law make this from her yarn scraps while we watched "Days of Our Lives"together. And bottom right: I was a December baby and came home from the hospital on Christmas Day. This apron belonged to my grandmother- whose house was the "first stop" on my way home that day.

These are things that are definitely in the "keeper" pile as we start to weed through our possessions. You are probably wondering why I'm keeping these things and not, for example, that "beautiful" (haha) chicken and rooster set. Well, the things that I'm choosing to keep are things that can be used. My thinking is that if an item can be used, it isn't frivolous to keep. And using something that you know was used by your great grandparents is really pretty cool. Don't you think?

I'm sure I'll discover more heirlooms during our cleaning out process .And they will probably become the topics of future posts. Because the really cool thing about heirlooms is that they all have a story. And the stories are what make them the "keepers".

Have a wonderful Wednesday evening :)  Juli