heirlooms/ traditions - How important are they to you?

PrairieMom wrote: Its house cleaning day today. Every time I clean the house I get to thinking about some of the heirlooms that I have. I have a rocking chair that My MIL used to rock DH when he was a baby, now I have rocked my babies in it, and I would like to pass it on to my children to rock my grand babies in. ( I had to vacuum around it today... )

I also have a set of fostoria dishes that I am the 4th generation to have. They will be passed on to Alexis.

I have a set of depression glass dished that came from my MIL, she got them from her father, and they will be passed on to Ben.

It is so important to me that these things be kept in the family. I am already worried that something will happen to them after I pass them on. I don't know why, they are just "things" but I don't want to be the one that drops the ball after 4 generations you know?

My MIL doesn't care about "things" at all. She told me that if we were ever short on $ I could sell the pink dishes. I about had a heart attack! I couldn't imagine selling something that has been in the family for 3 generations, (going on 4)

My current most treasured possession is the family punch bowl. My great grandma bought it used during WWI and it has been used in every family wedding since then. I was terrified that one of my cousins would get it, but it got passed on to me!

By the time My kids are grown, they won't have to buy any thing for them selves, I will have enough heirlooms to fill both their houses. And they better not get rid of or break any of it.

Cece00 replied: I'm mildy concerned with heirlooms, but not overly so. There are some things I have from family members that I will save for my kids.

HuskerMom replied: The only thing I can think of that we have is the bassinette that we used for Keith. Dh's grandma slept in it when she was a baby, then his dad and uncle, then Dh and his brother, then their three cousins, and now Keith. It's from the 30's. Someday we'll pass it on to Keith when he has kids.

PrairieMom replied:
that is so cool! I love things with history.

lovemy2 replied: We have some VERY (or what I consider VERY) - treasured heirlooms in our family too but they are still with my grandmother and mother who are both still very much alive - I think most of those things will be passed on to me when they die - which hopefully won't be for a very very very long time....right now I am happy to use them when I am with them at holidays, etc.....there are things like china, silverware, a hope chest, a chair with a needlepoint seat and a christening gown from my great great grandma.....

I however have a box of special outfits and special items of Olivia's from when she was a baby and have also started one for Dylan....I am also hoping that my scrapbooks will be passed on for years and years...

luvmykids replied: I'm terribly sentimental....I even have and use my grandma's mixer, aprons, good old fashioned heavy steel pots and pans, rolling pin, etc. I love using her kitchen stuff, it takes me back to being a kid in the kitchen with her but also reminds me of her as a mom.

I have two sets of china, one of them I'm the third generation to have. I have some depression glass also (one of my favorites!), full set of silver including chafing dishes, serving bowls, punch set, etc, a set of crystal, a set of bronze flatware from Japan that my grandpa got for my grandma when he was there on duty. I have pictures, frames, quilts, I have the dressing table that my grandparents got as a wedding gift. A red velvet coat that my great aunt made for my grandmother. I have a ton of black and white pics that go back more generations than I can name. I have letters written by relatives during the Civil War!

I love my heirlooms, I think they give me a sense of our history. And I love having things that people I loved cherished.

I just started clearing out my storage unit and it's like Christmas, box after box after box of things from both sets of grandparents and even earlier. I will also be getting a diamond ring that goes back to the 1900's, it's so fragile I would never even wear it, and an opal necklace that means the world to my grandma. It was from my grandpa and she's worn it every single day for 49 years.

Nina J replied: They're very important to me. I have a jewlery box that was my great-grandfathers. My great grandmother (she is more than one great, I don't know how many greats there are) got married in 1830, and she owned a watch when she got married. I have the watch. An circular container (not plastic, it's covered in material) that was a great-Aunts, she used it as a button box. Wedding rings, etc, I have alot of heirlooms that will all be passed on to my children.

hoosier momma replied: Family heirlooms are very important to me. I have several of my Great Grandma's "knickknacks". It really means a lot to me to have these memories of her and to be able to pass them down to my son. My sisters and I have some very old China that my Grandma collected and also stamp collections she made for all of us. I also have several of the very old family photographs which are neat to just look through from time to time. And, finally, most important to me are the quilts that my other Grandma made for me when I got married and the one she made for John Robert when he was born. These are very precious to me and are very rarely brought out of the chest.

lisar replied: There are a few in my family. I have my most of my mothers jewlery. Which I will hold on to forever. Lexi will probably get the engagment right of my moms. When the time is right. My Granny who is still alive has a ring that will be mine. Its apparently worth alot of money. I am not sure to be exact. Its a huge diamond on it. Honestly its been so long since I have seen it or even talked about it that I dont remember the carat or anything on it. But that is mine cause I was there when she bought it. I was like 2 or something. There is also this VERY VERY old family cook book. That is all hand written apparently my great-great-great grandmother started it and thru the years they have added to it. Its really old and in horrible shape. But its is still readable. No one knows who is going to get that. I want it but we all do and thats the problem. My Granny wont say who is going to get it. She knows I want it though. Other than those things I cant really think of anything else.

boyohboyohboy replied: I have a few things left, that are important to me. I have found over the years that I have let some things go. I think just seeing how when you get older, as my parents and grandparents have, and their things are just put in the trash as they have down sized and gone to nursing homes, its hard.
so I tend to keep pics most of all, and some old letters, and a set of crystal what has been in the family for a few generations.
but I dont think so far I have anything the boys are going to want...and it makes me sad to think that things I treasure they will throw out when I am gone.

mom21kid2dogs replied: I have "things" that are very sentimental to me but I guess I don't expect that they will hold the same sentimentality for Olivia. I have several pieces of furniture that were my grandparents but they were all dead before Olivia was born, so she really has no real connection to them. I'm really not a particularly sentimental person, though. If Olivia gets that, she'll definately get it from Stephen.

Traditions for me are a whole 'nother story. I hold tightly to a number of traditions~some familiar, some spiritual, some "home grown". For me, the whole point of traditions is to pass it on so these things I hope Olivia will take from her childhood and pass it on in her family.

holley79 replied: I think Traditions and Heirlooms are very important.

Annika has my old rocker, which was my mom's before me and my granny's before her.

Annika will get my great grandmother's depression glass and quilts. I have additional quilts that my great grandmother made that will be given to any additional children we may have.

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: My dining set belonged to my dad's grandmother, on his father's side. My china was hand painted by my dad's other grandmother, on his mother's side. I can't imagine ever selling either one. And I treasure them as much as I treasure the quilts that my grammy has made for me and Logan.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: Oh gosh, this hits home for me. But in the slighty un-sentimental way... I seriously do not have really anything from my side of the family, but we have a TON from DH's. I like some of it, but the rest are dust collectors IMO, drives me nuts! We have a port cabinet in our dining room that I love, from his grandparents. But we also have this Indonesian chest in there too that I can't stand. We also have several expensive rugs rolled up and sitting in our storage. DH feels bad getting rid of them, but they just don't go with our house, plus I just think it is a bit gross to think of the years of "feet" on them. I'm seriously a nick-knack Natzi at my house...DH puts them around the house and I take them down and put them in storage. I know that is mean, but some of it is just strange! I can't stand little heirloom doo-dads...I'm sorry! I would sell everything in a second, except the port cabinet and DH's grandma's china, if given the opportunity! Oh and we also have a baby bassinette that my FIL made and had his kids in, so both our boys were in it too. I love that piece! We also have DH's grandfather's desk (WWII) in our home office. There is some good and there is some bad is what I'm trying to say. But too much feels like a hodge-podge of "stuff" to me sometimes. Sorry to be such a pessimist (sp?).