Valuables

Many of us, and, being where we live, maybe even most of us, have things that belonged to somebody in our family's past.

I have a rose bush in my yard that was in my great-great-grandmother's yard (a woman I never knew) and possibly even in her mother's yard.

I have quilts, dishes, knick knacks, my great-grandmother's hat, (Daughter is wearing it on the front cover of my book, "Out on a Limb of the Family Tree") and even a piece or two of furniture from my grandparents.

But one of the things I value the most is this:

This is a jar of my Papa's marbles. He was my great-grandfather. When he was a little boy, back in the 1800's, the children would roll out clay dirt into little balls, and then bake them in the wood cook stove.

He knew I loved marbles. I collected as many as I could, always purchasing the five cent bag at the store when I could afford it.

One day, he just happened to remember he still had some of his old marbles, and he gave them to me.

They sit in honor in my living room, a testament to childhood.

My Papa's, and mine.