Echoes of the Past

Presently I am reading The Echoes of Old Books by Barbara Davis. The book title is so perfect because the protagonist, a rare book dealer, Ashlyn Greer, has a special gift, um—unique gift! She can feel what the former owners of books she comes into contact with felt during the time they read/owned the books. It doesn't happen with all the books! She can sense sadness, joy, frustration, etc. It is quite an interesting gift to have. She calls these feelings "echoes."

Right about now I wish (for just a little while) I had that intriguing gift. My mother recently shared a stack of dish towels that belonged to my great, great, grandmother and great aunt on my paternal side. They made these towels out of old flour cloth sacks. They are not in spectacular shape as we have estimated they are approximately 65-70 years old. I find these towels so amazing because they embroidered their initials on them. From stories I have heard, they would wrap their lunch tacos in them when they would go work in the fields. When my dad was old enough to go work with them, I assume they did the same for him. In order to get their towels back those initials came in handy! To make the towels a bit fancier, they would embroider different designs that were drawn on and some were appliquéd. Again from stories passed on and my imagination, this was something they would do to keep themselves busy and making their humble homes a bit livelier.

So by now you must be wondering why I wish I had the gift of sensing the feelings of owners of different objects from the past! I wish I could have a glimpse into the past and what my ancestral mothers were like and what they felt as they made a life for themselves and the home they gave my dad when they took on the amazing task of raising him. It would be awesome if I could somehow know their feelings about raising the rambunctious boy that became my dad!

I obviously know that this gift that the protagonist in my book has is a touch of magic, but it does not change that I wish I could possess that gift for just a little while. I feel fortunate to have these examples of items some of my ancestral mothers created with their hands. I wonder if they ever thought about the female descendants that would follow in their footsteps.I know it has made me aware of how important it is to me that those who come after me (in my family) know who I am, and the way I can ensure that is to keep writing and leaving them an account of my thoughts and feelings. If it is something that you feel strongly about, find a way to share yourself with your family not only in the future, but most importantly in the present!