Welcome to Volume 12 of Clutter Tales, a series where we tell the stories of our lives through our clutter. Today, I have another guest post and it’s a reminder of the sentimental value of old family photos. This tale comes from Smelly Socks and Garden Peas who shares the memories that came flooding back after she found an old photo of her grandad in a box of mementos.

About today’s guest blogger

“Smell” and I both started blogging around the same time, and she was one of the first bloggers I remember connecting with. I came across a post she had written about her vegetable garden, and we exchanged comments about our gardens. A new blogging friendship had been formed!

Smelly Socks and Garden Peas is a blog about Smell’s life with her husband and two young sons. It’s full of life’s everyday challenges, family fun and some sage advice. Please drop by and read some of her posts. It will be a bright spot in your day!

Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.

Smell’s Clutter Tale – Memories of Grandad

Just a couple of weeks before Michelle asked me whether I’d like to write something about clutter, we held the funeral for my paternal grandmother, my gran. She’d been in poor physical health for several years and suffered from vascular dementia for 18 months. We’d been grieving for her all that time and it was as much a relief when she finally slipped away, peacefully in her sleep. 

When I went to my parent’s house for the funeral, I found my mum had put together a box of mementos for me. Just some bits and bobs of my gran’s – gloves, trinkets, a vase and plate, and some pictures. Mainly pictures of my boys, a nice posed shot of me, my parents and my brother, and a simple picture of my grandad standing in front of a stone building, leaning on his walking stick.

When I took that photo of grandad out of the box, a warm cosy feeling immediately wrapped itself around me. I could hear his soft voice saying my name and imagine his beard tickling my neck as I cuddled up to him. My grandad died when I was 18, my first year at university, after a knee replacement operation had ended with pneumonia and eventually, he died. I don’t think I really grieved for him then, I was wrapped up in a boyfriend and my new-found independence. I’ve mourned for him in fits and starts over the last 22 years. Remembering him when my children were born and regretting that they would never know his kindness and secretly-shared toffees. Most of all, as my dad gets older and I see him becoming more and more like my grandad.

The enduring memory I have of my grandad’s funeral comes from my dad’s eulogy. He said his father’s most remarkable characteristic was his enduring, unwavering love for my grandmother. It sounded so romantic to a 19-year-old girl. Now, I know that my gran could be difficult to live with and that faithful commitment wasn’t just a romance-filled loving constancy, it was dedication and commitment too.

In her later years my gran told me stories about my grandad: how she’d had two suitors and chosen him, how he’d fared in the Second World War in the Navy, about their homes attached to fire stations when my dad and his brother were young. I wish I’d known him better; I wish I’d asked him about those parts of his life first hand and heard his stories. I wish my boys could have known him, laughed with him. Even if he had known them, he wouldn’t have been to them as he was to me – he’d have been a very old man by now, 97 last month, probably frail and fragile. But I’m sure his gentleness and steadfast spirit would have been as comforting to them as it was to me – even if I didn’t know it at the time. 

Emptying that box of accumulated clutter and finding my grandad brought a feeling of closeness that surprised me. Now he’s there on my bookcase behind my office chair, looking out at me when I turn around, reassuring and secure.

Thanks again to Smell for sharing this story with us. I love old photos and how they bring back memories and help us tell our family stories. Don’t forget to check out Smell’s blog at Smelly Socks and Garden Peas.

I hope you enjoyed this installment of Clutter Tales. If you’d like to write a guest post for Clutter Tales, please get in touch. I’d love to give you the opportunity to properly thank your clutter by sharing its story too!

Has an old photo ever brought back fond memories for you? Tell us about it below.