Team Ahimsa Blog Relay, Various Contests

30 Day Blog Challenge Day #1 - Possessions - #30DBC

PROMPT November 1st

We all have possessions of some type. Tell us five possessions you can’t live without, and why they are on this list.

It's strange you should ask me this.
Me, who always claims that 'things' are not important, people and emotions are. (Sorry if that sentence isn't up to the highest standards of grammar, but you know what I mean.)

And yet, weirdly enough, I cling to things. I cling to the oddest of things.

1. My books, especially those by Paul Gallico, Rumer Godden and JK Rowling.
I can't read ordinary type any more. My eyesight is weak. I have switched to audio books. Yet, my books are taking up space on the shelves, on the floor, on the spare bed ... everywhere. 'Why don't you donate them?' The 'sensible' answer is: Once the pandemic subsides, I may start classes again and may need these books then. The emotional answer is: a. I love them. I don't have to be able to use them any more to love them. b. They represent a time when I could read. When I loved reading. I don't pity myself for not being able to read now, I am happy with audio books, but I do like the memory.

2. My collection of post marks.
They're valuable in themselves. I talk about them a lot these days, here is a newsletter I did "Short Stories Newsletter (October 20, 2021)"  about them.
But - like the books are the fond memory of the past, the post marks are the fond hope for the future.
That I'll survive the pandemic. That after I've survived the pandemic, I'll have a presentation / exhibition of my post marks. That this is going to be my legacy - the memory of what was - 'the postal service' - when it has gone extinct, perhaps during my own life time.

3. My Dad.
Technically not a possession, but I'm his only child and now that Mom is gone, it's just the two of us. So we belong to each other. I guess if earlier, it's been the past and the future, Dad is the present. He's eighty six. He may leave this earth any time now. I have to enjoy each moment with him. I have to know how precious he is. I have to prepare for the time when I lose him, and then, learn to keep his memory alive.

That's past, future, present. What's left?

4. Present-continuous. My WdC account. I'll get my '15 year achievement' badge in April. I can't do without this community now. I hope I'm not sounding cheesy, saying this because I am on WdC. If I sound cheesy, well, cheese is tasty and filling, isn't it? A comfort food?

5. Past-continuous. My house.
It was built with a different viewpoint. I was supposed to marry. My husband, kids and I were supposed to visit my parents on vacation. Now, it's too big. Dad is eighty-six. I just turned fifty-four. We're rattling around like two dried beans here.
But I can't give up the memories, the familiarity, the neighbors. My extended family, all well meaning, is on my back to shift to an apartment. So much more practical. But no. Mom designed this place. We've had good times together here and seen each other through the tough ones. Can't leave. If the taps leak and the plumber needs to visit, or the wooden door swells in the rain and needs to be jerked open -- well, they just do. That's the quirky entity that is our house.

That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading!