Very soon one or both of my grandparents will pass away. I went over to Germany to spend time with them.
Since they are both in care homes, I stayed in their flat.
I visied them during the day. We talked about nice memories. I told them that I might never see them again. As much as they wished it weren’t so, they accepted that it might be so. My Oma said I can take anything I want from their house.
That evening, I looked around around the flat. What would I take?
For all that you leave behind, what is it that is really valued?
I rummaged around and came across some old photos. I spent hours looking at the old photos.
The photos provided me with a direct link to that moment. I had a relationship with the past – after all, the light of the moment 85 years ago, touched that card.
Although so old, I held it like a new strange technology. It was so strange compared to the photos I am used to.
There was extra life to these photos. The black and white prints had an almost holographic texture. I felt that if I would tilt the picture even just a bit then I might be able to see a bit more of the photo underneath the white border or see around a corner.
More than that, I could sense something at a deep emotional level, as if my fingertips were reading an emotional braille transported across time.
For all that you leave behind …
Take anything.
Take a handful of memories.