Traveling nut spoon carries stories never to be forgotten
There is so much to go through.
A Dear Reader is packing up a lifetime.
There is so much to give away, to sell, to find a home for, and sometimes to just let go.
There’s the dining room table, the scene of a lifetime of joyous gatherings. None of her kids have the room or the need.
Such tough choices
And so, she will let it go.
There are the folders and file cabinets.
“I kept every sympathy card I received when my husband passed away 10 years ago,” she shared. “I went back and read every single one. So many of those friends and family are gone now, too.”
And so, she let them go.
Dear Reader makes no apologies for going slowly. Holding, cherishing each item means reliving a beloved memory.
Wouldn’t it be something if she could bring it all as she moves several states away to be closer to her children and grandchildren?
It’s just not possible. Her new home in a retirement community is considerably smaller.
The special nut spoon
Which brings us to the nut spoon.
I didn’t know such a thing existed.
“It’s a little brass spoon with a small turquoise stone on the end,” Dear Reader explained. My cousin brought it back from India more than 50 years ago. She had been teaching English there for a couple years. She gave it to me when my husband and I were young newlyweds living in California.”
That spoon found its way to her sugar bowl. As they set up homes in California, Massachusetts, and finally Ohio, that spoon made the journey with them.
From young married life to raising three kids, to the joys of being a grandmother.
From the big house to the smaller condo.
That nut spoon has been there.
Her cousin passed away a few years ago, but each time Dear Reader sees the spoon, she can’t help but smile.
Time passes in an instant
Wasn’t it just a couple years ago she was a young newlywed receiving this delightful gift?
“No one even uses sugar anymore,” Dear Reader explained her practical decision.
The sugar bowl will go in the donate pile.
And the nut spoon?
“I’ll take it,” her oldest daughter said as they were going through things last weekend.
Dear Reader was delighted. The spoon will have a home with her daughter.
Only it won’t.
The nut spoon travels on
“I’ve decided to send it on,” she told her mom the other day.
“I’m going to send it my cousin.”
Dear Reader and Daughter aren’t even sure Cousin knows this gift from her late mother exists. This, of course, will require some storytelling.
About a young woman who traveled the world when few young women did.
Just as the traveling nut spoon doesn’t need the sugar bowl to serve up sweetness, Dear Reader is finding you don’t need specific things to pack up the most precious treasures of all.
Memories.
You can believe every single one of those is making the journey to her new home. No reason to leave a single one behind.
While you’re here…
If you like this story, you might enjoy my book,
