Abigail takes a wooden disk from Hercule's shop to remember him by. Do you have physical remembrances of a loved one or event you keep handy?

Abigail takes a wooden disk from Hercule's shop to remember him by. Do you have physical remembrances of a loved one or event you keep handy?

My maternal grandmother was from Slovakia. She did not speak English so I was never close to her. When I was young she gave me a picture of Jesus, trading card size. Even though I was not brought up in a religious home I always kept this gift. When I was 10 years old I asked for a Bible as a Christmas gift. I put that card in the Bible and it is still there.

I think that each of us has a special item which is the physical representation of our memories of a loved one. I have my late daughter's worn and dirty bunny rabbit, which she left me in her will before dying of cancer at the age of 36. The strong emotional tie to this object helps me, I believe to understand that for Abigail the wooden disk is not just a remembrance of Hercule. Rather, it represents all of the emotional and psychological meaning that he evokes in her heart and mind. Hercule is a lost husband as well as the embodiment of a lost life where Abigail knew her place and felt, if not free, then at least familiar and loved.

Irene, I'm sorry to hear about your daughter. I can't imagine how hard that must have been.

Mine is a swan that my father whittled out of balsam wood. It reminds me how kind, creative and handy he was.

Yes but it my secret.

Yes, I have my father's WWII army helmet. His passing broke my heart and left a hole where I can never seem to stop the bleed. However, simply looking at his helmet and thinking about how frightened he must have been as a young man. So far from home landing on the beach at Anzio and not being able to swim and seeing the men in front of him dropping into the deep surf and drowning and thinking any minute he would be shot to death or drowned. At Monte Cassino, where the streams ran red with blood, marching into Rome and all the other battles and daily traumas and the courage and fortitude he showed. He wore that helmet and it helped keep him safe and was with him as he began to become the man who 20+ years later would become my dad. I think to myself that if he can face all that then I surely can get through anything the world throws at me.

I have things that remind me of each of the family members I have lost. most are jewelry, but I also have some knitted throws and blankets. I have also purchased a few items to replace things that people gave me as a child that were lost, I like having them again, even thought they are not the exact ones.

I have things that belonged to loved ones which are important remembrances of them, but I don't keep them with me.

Yes. My husband loved hats, so I kept several of them after he died. They are on a hatrack in my sewing room and when I see them, it makes me smile.

I have a medal that my late husband had in his key case. I have it on my key ring.

After my father passed away, my niece took one of his shirts for each family member and had this saying put on the pocket: This is a shirt I used to wear. Whenever you hold it, Know that I am there. Love, Dad.

She then made them into pillows. So we each have this pillow to remind us of him...even though none of us could ever forget him of course.

I definitely have treasured items, and one of them will be puzzling to whoever handles my estate some day. This "treasure" is a homemade coat for my Barbie made with the same fabric and same silk lining that my paternal grandmother had used to make a coat for herself. I remember that as a young child, I did not think the coat was particularly attractive, and I preferred Barbie's authentic gold brocade coat or baby-blue sweater with the white angora collar. Decades later when I sold my huge collection of authentic Barbie and Ken doll clothes along with the dolls, I did not include that one homemade coat. It meant to much to me - even with numerous moth holes in the wool. I sealed the coat in a large plastic food bag to avoid further moth holes, and my tears still flow when I look at the incredible detail on that coat with tiny buttons and button holes. It was made with love by my grandmother the last time I saw her before she passed away.

Where would any of us be without our relics? The science of whether or not these items actually link us to another dimension or realm is still in infancy stage. However, I do feel a connection to a different world when I hold them or contemplate them.

Most definitely.

I have many mementos from family past. Everything from furniture handed down in the family to more personal items like jewelry. One of my prized possessions is a buckeye that my father always carried in his pocket.