When my sister and I moved my Mother last August, we didn’t have time to sort through everything that was stored in the boxes in her attic.  So, the boxes found a home in my garage and den – awaiting the time I could go through them.  They sat there neglected until this past weekend …when with little enthusiasm I decided to go through a few at a time. 


Some files were quickly dispatched to the shred pile – things like checking account statements from 1986 and a batch of checks from 1958.  However, other files were a treasure trove of memories – such as one created by my Dad  “KAK Personal  Papers.”

Of special interest was his offer letter from Ingersoll Rand in 1950 for the mighty salary of $250 a month and his telegraphed acceptance.  Things have certainly changed.  There was a file my Mom had kept too – filled with childhood artwork and homemade birthday cards. 


I set these personal files aside and shared them with my Mom.  As she leafed through them, each piece of paper generated a story – one she remembered and was happy to share.  I left the files on her coffeetable and she enjoys looking through them often.  I’m now hunting through the other boxes in my attic hoping to find more of the same.  For these paper memories are “presents” and like childhood toys, she takes them out and “plays with them” – happy to show me something new she’s discovered or tell me a story.  She is both engaged and engaging, and I’m thankful that the past helps her be truly present.