At breakfast the other morning, my kids were laughing and telling knock-knock jokes – some they’ve heard before and some that they were making up. I remembered I had a knock-knock joke book that I loved when I was a kid, and I was pretty sure I even remembered where it was packed away. After breakfast, I found the crate that was packed with things from when I was a kid. Inside the crate, just as I had remembered, was my favorite knock-knock joke book… but… my kids were more fascinated by my “treasure box” that we unpacked.
When I was 8 years old, my Dad gave me an old cigar box – you know the kind; sturdy cardboard with a flap-type lid. He told me I could use the box to store my treasures in. Over the years, I added small trinkets and treasures to this box – so many that the box could barely close anymore. This morning, I untied the ribbon holding the box closed and my kids and I sat on the floor for a long time and looked through it.
As memories came flooding back to me, my kids were amazed at some of my treasures: a gigantic replica of a penny that my Mom gave me; stickers collected from gum packages; a couple of rocks from a trip we took to the west coast; a small key from a long-lost diary, kept as a teenager; a pressed and dried four-leaf clover (the first one I ever found on my own); a ticket stub to my first dinner theater experience (a 13th birthday celebration with my Mom and Dad); a yellow smiley face pin that I loved to wear on my jean jacket; and many more special treasures. My boys laughed at some of the things I had in my treasure box, and asked about each and every item. It amazed me that I could remember why I kept all these treasures, and it was great fun to tell my kids the stories behind them.
I think every kid should have a treasure box of their own. One that they can collect and store their most favorite memorabilia in. One that they will revisit some day when they are older, perhaps with their own children.
Today, I gave each of my boys their own treasure box… a simple, blank cigar-style craft box. I hope they will be able to capture their childhood memories, too!
Why not start this tradition with your kids?
