What personal belongings do you hold most dear?

Daily writing prompt

What personal belongings do you hold most dear?

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This question is one I didn’t have to ponder very long to answer. The things that I hold dearest to my heart are probably not worth much money or may be junk to others. But to me, these things are precious and like gold that glimmers. I have several things I cherish that are near and dear to me. Below is my list of things, what they are, represent and why they are so dear to me.

1. April Dollar Tree Blue Bear- This little blue bear is in a tin and probably cost a few dollars twenty years ago when my mom purchased it. It is a blue bear that represents her birth month of March. When she went to heaven in 2017 and we cleared her house and went through her belongings. I found this four inch blue bear in the tin and it still had the price tag (maybe like $1.99) or so on it. She loved to buy and collect small Knick knack items from Dollar Tree, dollar General, Walmart, Roses and other stores. This one was found by my wife and she brought it to me. It was in the drawer beside her bed and when she handed it to me, I just began to weep. It reminded me of her and her passion for small things. She was a great soul, mom, wife and friend and that small blue bear in the metal tin just reminds me of her love, care and kindness as a human being.
2. Dads Pocket Knife- I have one of my dads pocket knives. It is an Old timer that he carried in his pocket for many years. He carved many pieces of wood with that old timer. He used that knife to cut bait fishing at the beach. He used that knife to cut pieces of carpet when he installed it in peoples homes. He used that knife for protection and it was in his pocket all the time. That knife is actually decently of value as an old timer. But the memories I have with my dad of watching him work on things, fix things, chop things, cut things and shape things with that old timer make it more valuable to me than any other knife I have.
3. Gold Necklace- My wife gave me a new gold necklace with a cross on it when we got married. This was just a standard 22 inch necklace with a nice gold cross on it. At the time, it cost a lot as we were younger and struggling at times to make it. That necklace was her gift to me and it is still on my neck even as I write this posting. I have taken it off maybe three times the last 32 years (Surgeries and other medical testing). Otherwise, that necklace will stay right where it is forever. I will take it to the grave with me as a constant reminder of our love, life together and all the cherished memories we made while I was wearing that gold necklace.
4. Hot Wheel Pickup Truck- I wrote a blog post about this one a few years ago that lots of people enjoyed. this Hot Wheel truck is a reminder of my parents and their guidance, love, commitment and how they grew my brothers and I up to be good men. They taught us that family, faith and friends are the best part of life. They taught us that good fundamental spending habits and saving money is important to life’s success. The Hot Wheel story in short is this:

When I was turning 16 I saw this cool truck down the road that I (wanted) and just had to have. I worked part time but did not have the funds to buy it so I asked my mom and dad several times to look at it. My dad and I went and looked at it a few times and man I wanted that thing to be in the driveway when I woke up that Saturday morning of my 16th birthday. Fast forward a few weeks and the big day came. It was early Saturday around 7:30am and my mom come in my room and said get up, get dressed and meet your dad in the driveway. Your truck is out there and man I got excited. I jumped out of bed, dressed and ran outside as fast as I could.

My dad was leaned over into the hood of our old ford station wagon and he said to me. “Boy, your new truck is in over there in the driveway”. I couldn’t see a truck so I was confused and he pointed over there towards the other side. I ran over there as fast as I could and bam, there sat a brand new pickup truck. Beautiful Hot Wheel pickup truck in the box. I probably cost .25 or .50 cent to buy and I was taken back. I was not about to complain or say anything as I knew that being disrespectful would not be a good way to react or the consequences would not be good. You see, I grew up when kids better have manners and obey and be good to their folks. Back to the story of the Hot Wheel Truck. I bent over and picked it up, looked at it and said Thank You mom and dad for the new Hot Wheel.

I went inside and to my room. Later that morning, my mom came into my room and asked me how I was feeling about what had happened and asked me to be honest with her. I told her I was disappointed but appreciated the new Hot Wheel and it was a cool addition to my already growing collection. She then proceeded to grab my hand and tell me a story about when she was little and wanted a baby doll that her parents could not afford as she grew up very poor with four siblings sharing a two bedroom house on a farm. Her mother made her a hand made baby doll instead that was not near as nice or pretty.

But it carried a valuable lesson she had learned as a kid about “needs and wants”. My mom wanted the new Sears catalog baby doll but got what her parents could afford and what she “needed”. The truck was the same for me. I had been asking for something they probably could not afford to buy as it was big, fast and worth more than a 16 year old needed at the time. The Hot Wheel was a life lesson of “needs and wants”. Then my mom told me to go get in the car and we went and they had already bought the car I “needed” from a family friend. It was a car that I had rode to school in many times with a buddy that was two years older. He graduated and got a new car so they bought me the Blue Pinto Bean. Man, I loved that car and it took care of me for six years until it finally died on highway 421 in Wilkesboro NC on the way back to college my Junior year. I drove a backup work van for a few months and got a newer car when the semester ended.

There are other things that I have I would not give away or sale for any price. The memories that those Knick Knacks, Collectibles, Knives and Hot Wheels are also life lessons. When I teach my students about needs and wants, I bring that Hot Wheel to school and tell them the story of cherished things.