The Archives

I have a box where I store my old pictures,papers and other memorabilia. All the stuff that some call junk. Collectively I call it, "the archives." Whenever I get something I want to save I place it in the archives.
I'm no different than most of us and a lot of my stuff was in different locations. It just got set down somewhere or put in a box. A few years back I started making an effort to place all this stuff in the one box.
Occasionally I still  run across a paper or photograph I had placed somewhere and add that to the collection.
Yesterday it occurred to me that some of this stuff should be out where others can see it. What is the point of having things if no one can see them ? So I got the "archives" out and assembled my fathers medals from WW2. I placed them in a shadow box and hung them on the wall. He kept them for forty five years. I don't recall ever seeing them. After he passed on Mom gave them to me. I have had them for over ten years now and have looked at them occasionally. My wife has seen them but few others have. Time to put them on display. I do have some other items setting about that belonged to him or other members of the family. It is a comfort and a reminder. It is comforting to know the items are still here. It is a reminder to enjoy the things you do have and not worry about what you don't.
Too often I think we get involved in getting new stuff and fail to appreciate our own past. Old certificates from school days are tucked away and forgotten.Pull them out and take a look. Remember what a great feeling it was when you received that ? Other items saved and then forgotten about. What a shame.
I have begun adding these items to our decor. It is getting to feel a lot more like home every day.