Well, I'll be darned.

 Today is my birthday, so of course it makes me think of my mum. It's been years since my mum died. 18 years as a matter of fact. I can still hardly talk about her without welling up with tears. I can say things like "Oh, my mum used to do that/enjoy that/sing that....", and I'm fine, but I can't actually discuss her in anything longer than a sentence without becoming extremely emotional. I had always thought that eventually the pain would fade away, but holy cow, not in the least. So, rather than cry in front of people (eeeeek! A huge fear for us introverts!) I generally try to not talk about her too much.

But because I want her memory to live on, I feel the need to tell little stories and anecdotes about her, and writing them down is the easiest way. 

She was a minimalist before the term was ever bandied around like it is nowadays. Partially because we moved so often that it was near impossible to be any sort of collector at all, and the less you have the easier it is to pack up and move, and partially because she was just not very attached to "things".  She had a few ornaments that were special to her...a pair of ceramic ladies on horses that were a gift to her mum on her wedding day, some pieces of jewelry that were also her mothers, and a pair of cufflinks and a tie pin that her dad wore on his wedding day...that sort of thing. 

She did have a collection of books, not a whole lot, she was one of those people who would re-read a favorite book over and over. I didn't inherit that from her....I very seldom re-read a book. However, everywhere we moved to, my dad would build her bookshelves to display them in....built-in to fit whatever kind of a house we were stationed in, and she would add a few more, but mostly we were library folk. 

For someone who was a photographer by profession she didn't even have many photos stashed away. A few small albums of me growing up, some wedding pics of her and my dad and a few from her Airforce days.

So, after she died, there was very little to go through and to have to get rid of. I mean, all the furniture and that sort of stuff was still going to be in use by my dad, so it was only her personal items, and she didn't have a lot. It was still horribly painful to go through her clothes and to decide what I wanted to keep....some belts and scarves, a spring jacket, a few ornaments that my dad asked me if I wanted, all her awesome and eclectic jewelry and that's about it. Like I say, the other items were all things my dad would continue to use. I'll bet it didn't take me two hours.

Anyhow, to make a long story short, after my dad died, 10 years after my mum, amongst his things was a small silver box with "Ruth" written on it. I opened it once, probably 10 years ago, and quickly glanced through a few pictures, what appeared to be some cards (Birthday and Mothers Day cards from me over the years, I was actually surprised she even saved those... as I say, she was not into sentimental savings) It just made me too sad to look, so I just put it away.

However, today I was thinking, and I was pretty sure I had seen this in there....went searching, and sure enough, my birth announcement and hospital wrist band. Awwwwww......kinda means even more to me since I know it must have meant a lot to her.