Cherished Memories & Keepsakes

I have been doodling more lately and everytime I spend time drawing I think of my dad. The memories I have of him come to mind and I wonder how my life would have been different if we had been given  more time together.

 

He died in a car accident when I was very young so my memories of him are precious and few. I have a handful of pictures, a few  items that were his and a couple of holiday cards that he sent to me.

 

The cards and pictures that   I have from him are the reason that I so strongly believe in preserving family history.   The cards he bought, took the time to write a note in and mailed to me  kept me company many nights as I held tightly to them as I fell asleep.  The pictures reminded me that a real person loved me  and they helped keep his image fresh in my mind.

 

 I also have  some drawings that he did while at my grandmother’s home when  visiting me and a set of tools he left there the last time he came.

 

The sketches are old and the paper is yellowed and   brittle now. The tools are rusting and the wooden box they are in is falling apart  though  I  attempted to keep them safe and cared for.  Like with all temporal  things, time has taken its toil and it shows.

 

The keepsakes I have of his artistic talent is the reason he comes to mind when I draw but it’s even more so when my sons draw, sketch or paint. My dad was extremely  talented and while I enjoy doodling and can occasionally  draw a few somewhat esthetically pleasing doodles his grandsons  inherited the greater part of his talent.  It would have been nice to have had them know one another.  

 

 

 Pictures of the drawing tools my dad used. They are well  over 50 years old.

 

Pictures of my dad and my mom who is also gone now.

 

 

 

Hold close those you love and remember that in just a moment, in one breath, in one heart beat they could be gone.   Take lots of pictures, leave handwritten notes for each other, make memories and cherish the time you have with them today.