Memories In The Attic

I picked one of the hottest days to go into the attic.
My son, who is a lawyer in Washington, DC, asked me to look for something.
It was something from his childhood that he was wondering if we still had tucked away.
Do you think we gave it away or do we still have them? he asked me in a text message.

I was never the one to throw away old toys but we did give them away.
This son gave away his favorite Playskool garage when he decided he had grown too old for it.
Are you sure? I asked him at the time.
I’m positive, he answered.

Some child received a wonderful garage with all the accessories that year.
My son called it Frankie’s Garage for some reason and the name stuck.
I knew that there were times that he was sorry he gave the garage away.
If I had been a bit savvier, I could have put it in the attic for safe keeping.

However, I did not want to undermine his generous spirit.
He made the decision to part with something very special.
I honored his decision.
As the toys were going into the back of the mini van, he raced to the car to get something.

He had placed a squishy ball that was painted to look like the globe in the roof of the garage.
He also had this little figure that was a pencil eraser stuck in another hidden place.
He grabbed those treasures; Frankie’s Garage could now be given away.
It was what I did years later that causes my family to tease me.

I found the same garage on Ebay and purchased it.
It was missing the hose that attaches to the side of the garage but everything else was there.
My son was in college at the time and I sent him a picture when it arrived.
For my future grandchildren, I texted underneath.

That garage is really played with and enjoyed now by any child who visits our home.
The best part of Frankie’s Garage is the garage door opener.
It actually works when you shine a light beam on a sensor.
That was always the big attraction then and the big attraction still.

I went into the attic on this hot July day to look for what my son requested.
That item could not be found but I had a wonderful time up there despite the heat.
I found the bin with all of his treasures.
The binder with plastic sleeves filled with baseball and football cards.

I found the crest of our family name that he had to draw as a project in middle school.
And then I saw the silo.
The Fisher Price silo that went with the Little People barn.
I opened the silo knowing what I would find inside.

There, just as he left them, were plastic baseball hats of all the major league baseball teams.
I ordered them from the back of a Cheerio’s box.
When they arrived, it was like his birthday arrived early.
He was so excited to have them.

It is what he did with them that we still talk about in our family.
Every morning, he would get the sports page from the newspaper.
He opened it to read all the scores from the night before.
He would line up his baseball hats on the top of a tall stereo speaker.

Winning team on the left.
Losing team on the right.
On any given day, all we had to do was look at his hats to see who won the most recent game.
Of course, those hats had to stay there; nothing could interfere with his system.

He had that same system for football teams as well.
He had asked for small football helmets of all the major teams for Christmas one year.
Each baseball and football season, the top of our stereo speaker was covered with hats.
I didn’t mind; one day he outgrew that, too.

I walked down memory lane in my attic.
I saw the globe that my children used when they played school.
I saw the table and chairs they sat on to draw or have tea parties.
I saw the bin filled with Matchbox cars and trucks and the mat that was used as the road.

I went back in time about 15 years or more.
It was a wonderful journey.
There among the Christmas decorations and the extra twin-sized headboard was a story.
It was the story of childhood.

In every bin, there were memories.
Tucked away was the evidence of the children they used to be.
I was searching among the treasures.
I was transported to a sweet time.

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about his child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:16-19)

Jesus’ mother had treasured memories as well.
Mary pondered all these things in her heart.
She was probably both wistful and joyful.
The two often go hand in hand.

Our children cannot remain little forever, nor would we want them to.
Our children will one day be parents, if God allows.
They will experience similar treasuring and pondering.
Then and only then will they understand.

A walk down memory lane in the attic can only be understood after you have walked a while.
After a journey of years, the looking back is precious.
But it was too hot in the attic and I needed to go back downstairs.
That is the way it is supposed to be; you cannot stay long in the land of memories.

Life is happening all around me and you.
New memories are being made.
New bins will be filled with new treasures.
New parents will be pondering with joy and wistfulness.

And I will smile.
I will smile because I understand.
I have been there among the Christmas decorations and the extra twin-sized headboard.
But it was hot and it was time to come back downstairs.