April 23, 2010

A peek at the past

Text by Ruth Manimtim-Floresca

“In my mind, we are all heirs to history. Antiques are our bequests, our connection with those who went before. They tell us how our ancestors functioned, how they dressed, how they governed, how they viewed each other, how the world treated them, and how they treated the world.”

—Bernard Didier in Doris Mortman’s book Rightfully Mine

I am very much interested in my family’s history. I was in high school when I tried tracing our family tree and my grandma was still alive. I would pester her who gave birth to whom, what was my relationship to so and so, what were the names of those who came before us, etc. etc. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish the whole thing. But the process made me more aware and in awe of how generations upon generations of people came to pass.

Tangible memories

I don’t own any valuable antiques. But I do have old things that my grandma has managed to preserve through the years and which became very precious to me. Imagine my delight one time when I came across little treasures as I rummaged through items she kept in storage all these years. I found a 1926 edition of the Philippine Free Press, cedulas, receipts and certificates of my grandpa and his siblings way back from the first three decades of the 20th century, an envelope containing a wad of paper money from the Japanese occupation era (which my mom told me were called Mickey Mouse money because they had no value) and lots of yellowish black and white photos among other things.

The pictures were my greatest finds. It was nice to discover the younger versions of my grandparents. I finally got to see what grandma looked like when she was still single; and what a beautiful lady at that! Seeing a complete family photo of my grandpa’s side of the family made me giddy with excitement. My ancestors! Oh, how formidable my great-grandmother looked; but how cute my grandpa was as a teenager. I could even see the resemblance between him and my second son.

There was also this old group picture showing grandma with women in our barrio—very old ladies now whom I still get to see (those who are still alive) whenever I visit the place where I grew up. It’s amazing how some of them still look a lot like their younger selves even with the wrinkles and stooped shoulders that came with age.

I also saw a photo of my mom and aunt when they were still little girls. Nanay and I kind of looked alike at the same age. Even my aunt, Mom’s best friend and first cousin, resembled her daughter (a good friend of mine) a lot too. Funny thing was, they were wearing lace dresses in the picture which I’m sure itched a lot! It made me glad I wasn’t born in that era.

Sentimental values

I have to confess that I am such a pack rat—just like my mom, and my grandmother before us. I have this tendency to hold on to big and small things from moments that I want to remember for a long time. Some people, including my husband, may dismiss the idea with scorn but hey, those items make me happy so I’m keeping them!

My friends from kindergarten until high school would probably be surprised to know that I still have their little notes, cards, and letters bundled in a box in my old room at home. I have also been filing concert and movie tickets that I’ve watched back in the ‘90s until today.

Truly, old things do have a way of bringing back that sense of timelessness where one can imagine how people of past ages lived or even let us remember moments enjoyed by our younger selves. By finding the things my grandma was compelled to save, I felt privileged having had the chance to take a peek and learn some family history while having fun.

Someday, I imagine my kids or their children browsing the knickknacks I managed to stash all these years. Maybe, just maybe, some of them would also feel that thrill of discovery and treasure what they find. After all, anything that is valuable does not always have to have something to do with money.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of HerWord or BusinessWorld.

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