Writing 101, Day Twenty: The Things We Treasure

Tell us the story of your most-prized possession.

It’s the final day of the challenge already?! Let’s make sure we end it with a bang — or, in our case, with some furious collective tapping on our keyboards. For this final assignment, lead us through the history of an object that bears a special meaning to you.

A family heirloom, a flea market find, a childhood memento — all are fair game. What matters is that, through your writing, you breathe life into that object, moving your readers enough to understand its value.

My treasures,

As explained by a dictionary,

Accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.

Art highly prized for its beauty or perfection

Any possession that is highly valued by its owner

A collection of precious things

A brilliant or much-loved person who is highly valued,

 

All of course true, looking at it though, it doesn’t explain the feelings that accompany the word, depth of the value, even if that value is monetary or emotional, both strong incentives.

The word treasure congers up so many visions for me, each one depending on the eyes you use to look at it, or maybe not so much looking as feeling it, yes, I think to get the true meaning of treasure you have to feel it.   Ask a ten year old boy what he sees when he reads the word, you may very well be told about a hidden pirate’s chest full of gold or silver coins, gem stones etc, or his favourite football card, whereas the same question posed to a little girl of the same age, may result in jewellery worn by a fairy princess, queen or her new mobile phone. To a lonely old person who has no family left, there is a possibility it may consist of a faded photo album that records happy times long gone, but never forgotten.

Having thought long and hard about my treasures, the use of the plural deliberate, we were a family of four, as the years passed so did the ripple of life spread, adding more gems, extending us to a family of eight. One could go on indefinably about extended family, friends or pets, all treasures in their own way, my list being endless.

Quoting the saying, one person’s junk is another’s treasure, while stepping aside from the people that shine in my life, as I stand in any room of our home, the gems glitter for me from different hidden corners,  three little mice ornaments, a plastic heart necklace, a stone that resembles an emu, an elephant key ring, the list is endless going from room to room, none of these treasures have any monetary value, but the love that went into giving them, or was felt in receiving them was priceless.

On reading through the above I have come to the conclusion that taken separately, there is not one that outshines the other, each gem in my own personal treasure chest sparkles brightly alone, combined, their glow is what lights up my life.