A candle holder made by my daughter when she was 6
— John Hamilton
It was made during a period of upheaval and uncertainty in my life and following the separation of her mother and myself. We were both learning the ropes of my role in her life as I was coming to terms with my career, life as a single parent in a new but temporary house on my own.
To remember. I’m not a hoarder generally, mostly because I hate looking for things.
Kept
This memory has been kept
It stays on the shelf, held and witnessed.
Questions to sit with
What happened to you around this object?
What does keeping it protect you from — or connect you to?
If you let it go, what would you lose? What might you gain?
Whose memory is this, really?
These prompts follow Ian Porter's approach — compassionate curiosity, asking “what happened to you?” rather than “what's wrong with you?”.