In-Depth Studies, Room to Explore, and Bridge-Building

In this week's episode of the television show "This is Us," one of the characters, Beth, starts a "memory box" for her children. Their grandfather has cancer and the prognosis isn't good.

Beth uses the memory box she made when her dad died as an example. Inside, she put all sorts of things that reminded her of him, including a menu from a restaurant her dad used to take her.

Beth's children catch on pretty quickly and one of them places a chess piece into her memory box because her grandfather took the time to teach her how to play the game in preparation for a chess tournament.

After most of us pass away, a loved one will end up carting off a box of our belongings and placing it in the basement or some out of the way place to reminisce over at some later date that won't come any time soon.

I have two such boxes in my basement. One from my dad and another from my grandmother. It's been 17 years and 15 years, respectively, since their passing, but it still feels too soon to open those boxes. Probably because it was their stuff and it almost feels invasive.

But a memory box would be different. In fact, it has me thinking about starting boxes for older family members. I'd place letters, pictures and any sort of artifact that commemorates a moment we shared together. That wouldn't feel invasive, at all.

How about you? Do you have memory boxes for loved ones? Do you have cardboard boxes containing items from deceased loved ones that you never open? Or maybe you do open them? I'd love to hear your take.

Now, let's get to this week's thoughts about slowing down and living deeper:

• As somebody who has more than 50,000 photos hanging around in the cloud, this article hit me between the eyes: A Fresh Approach to Documenting Your Family’s Story: Less Is More by Beryl Ayn Young.

• Laura Moulton started Street Books because she wanted to build a bridge with people who live outside in Portland by using literature. Judging from this video, I would say she has succeeded.

• How many miles of roads and streets make up the U.S. Highway network? According to the television show Going RV on GAC, the answer is 4 million (or, the equivalent of 8 trips to the moon and back). That's a lot of open space to explore and unwind.

• Stories like this are the reason to keep subscribing to newspapers: Remembering Hermit Jim, Bellevue's social recluse who made his home near Fontenelle Forest.
  

• If you are considering downsizing but just can't let go of the "good stuff," then this article is for you: A Guide to Let Go of Your Perfectly Good Things.
  

• Study something you love in depth. That's the advice of cartoonist Paul Karasik, from Austin Kleon's blog.

• This article intrigued me: Caffeine Dreams: 13 Books for the Coffee Obsessed. As somebody who wrote a book called Common Grounds, it's hard not to scroll through this list.

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Have a great weekend!