In Robert Fulghum’s book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, a book of essays about life, there is a chapter titled “Gummy Lump” which is what the author calls a shoebox where he keeps all the handmade notes and cards that his children had given him over the years. It’s a really nice read which you can read in its entirety here but here is the best part:
The three children are grown up now. They still love me, though it’s harder sometimes to get direct evidence. And it’s love that’s complicated by age and knowledge and confusing values. Love, to be sure. But not simple. Not something you could put in a shoebox. This sticky icon sits on a shelf at the top of my closet. Nobody else knows it’s there. But I do. It is a talisman, a kind of cairn to memory, and I think about it every morning as I dress. Once in a while I take it down from the shelf and open it. It is something I can touch and hold and believe in, especially when love gets difficult and there are no small arms around my neck anymore.
Anyhoo, when I went back to my hometown last month, my mom showed me hers. It’s not a box like Robert’s, but a photo album. Here are some of the cards that little me made for her and Dad. How funny are those scribblinga and drawings? 😛
Do your parents keep a gummy lump? Or if you’re a parent, do you have one?
well now this is just adorable!<br /><br />my parents have boxes for each of us of our best school projects and cards we've gotten from other people. And I think my mom has some letters from us saved in a drawer.
Ohhh I love the first one- smile and be happy 🙂
How sweet. I have kept a few things. I have a Two shoe box of cards too and I pretty much displayed their stuff on the fridge and then discarded it. I believe in displaying mementos and not boxing things away. I have special things that go on our Christmas tree and framed items out all the time. And, like your mom a few scrapbooks that sit out for display.<br /><br />Lucy from <a href="http://