Provenance Part 1

In many ways, our possessions define us. I'm not talking so much about our cars, homes, clothes, electronics etc but more about all those little things we have around us that make us smile just to see them sitting there. We all have possessions that are not particularly valuable in a monetary sense but are very important for the stories they carry or memories they evoke.

Remember cleaning out Mom and Dad's house? We'd find things and wonder ..... why is that still here after all this time? You know it must have had meaning for Mom or Dad and you'd love to know its story. Well, at least I would like to know those stories. I might still put it out for the yard sale, but the story can still live on.

So it's important to document the stories. This is the first entry into my "Provenance" series--sharing stories about stuff that is important to me so that someday someone can say "I know why that thing is still here after all this time".

I have a picture of flowers in a vase that's in a round frame that came from Nanny and Weenie's house. I don't know why, but I've always been drawn to that picture. It might be a watercolor--no artist's name is visible. I don't know beans about the history of this thing but I would love to. It might just be a picture they picked up at the 5 and 10 for all I know but it has always given me a warm happy feeling and kind of says "Nanny and Weenie" to me.

You can see it in the background of this picture. I never felt like it really fit in that Walton house but I feel like it belongs right where it is currently in my living room. The picture above is Christmas 1990 and the one below is Christmas 1956--look at the wall behind Weenie's head.

These possessions that are so important often appear in the background--they often aren't the focus of any particular attention but think how empty our lives would be in their absence. I only came to have this picture through the loss of Nanny, Weenie, Mom and Dad. Such a heavy price helps explain its real value.