A Paper Trail From Our Past To Present

She had them by the hundreds.  They were everywhere, covering walls and displayed in china cabinets.  She found them at estate sales, thrift stores, and on eBay.

Photo: Hoag Levins HistoricCamdenCounty.com

Beaded purses.  Clutches, reticules, pocket books.  All of them.  She had all sizes and shapes, mostly dating from 1800s and early 1900s.  She couldn’t help herself.

I asked her why – why beaded purses?  She had no particular reason, only that she could really relate to them somehow.  They called to her.

For my youngest son, it’s the Civil War; my older son, medieval times; and my ex, the Wild West.

Castles, particularly from the 1400s, do it for me.   Chills always roll through my body, my goosebumps have goosebumps, and my heart strings get stretched beyond their limits when I flip through pictures of castle ruins.  That’s the period of time that resonates with me the most.  Articles about Scottish clans from the 1100s send me back – somewhere, to a time I lived before.

dreamstime.com

On the other end of the spectrum, walking through an antique shop and coming face to face with one of those porcelain dolls has the opposite effect.  There is something about the late 1700’s and those dolls that make me really uncomfortable – like creepy uncomfortable.

thedollcorner.com

It is said that when we relate to an object, an era, or even a particular location, and it just triggers an inexplicable recognition within us, the reason is because we’ve owned it before, seen it before, or been there before.  I’m talking past lives or parallel lives, depending on which school of thought you’re coming from.

The familiarity is etched in our DNA.  We never forget.

So what about you?  Do you ever get that déjà vu feeling, or have a passion about a certain place or time?  Do antiques or heirlooms stir a familiar memory in your soul?