Stewards of the future – the present and the past

– a tribute to my mom, all the generations before me and the Museums that will now keep the memories

As you might know, my mom passed away early this month, and I have spent the last weeks emptying a house full of memories. Memories from my mom's and dad's lives, my childhood and lives lived long before I was born. You see, my mom didn't throw anything away, and the same can be said of the generations before her. As the Museum I called said - this is like a 'pocket in time.'

I have spent weeks reading letters written to my great great great grandparents and their families. Letters full of memories and stories about life back hundreds of years, love letters, letters full of hate and telegrams about deaths, and celebrations of new lives and memorable days. I have read about dreams, nightmares, wars, hard times, joy, love, being present in the moment – and caring and helping each other over hardships. All from a time when letters were handwritten and sent by post. Letters that shared what was going on in their lives – the good, the bad and the ugly. Long letters, postcards, letters explaining feelings and regrets and love.

I have found letters from the Danish King Frederik VI from 1819 written in gothic letters to my family stamped with a red wax seal. I have also found diaries about how my family lived hundreds of years ago and pictures from when you hired a photographer to take black-and-white pictures.

And thick books—one from 1778 by D. Caspari Erasmi Brochmands—an over 1400-page book written in gothic letters. Opening it, I saw it was dedicated to me when I was still a child, with a clear message that the book could not be sold or borrowed by others and had to be kept and cared for. And at the back pages, it had been signed by the keepers of the book—my ancestors—since 1796.

I have found pictures and letters from my grandma's brothers who moved to Canada. They show pictures of their meetings with indigenous peoples and their lives as settlers trying to build a new life. It was a hard life—but simultaneously a life with joy, living in the now, enjoying the present.

I have found condolence cards and telegrams from my dad's funeral, my mom's first husband's funeral, my grandma's and grandpa's funerals, their parent's funerals and their parents. Yes, I feel as if I have dealt with many funerals in the past weeks.

I have also found the letters I sent to my mom when I was an au pair in California. Back then, we didn't have Skype, WhatsApp, etc., and phone calls between Denmark and the US were too expensive. My mom also kept drafts of some of her letters to me—giving me strength when I was sad and celebrating when I was happy, telling her about learning to ride a horse, drive a car, and go on vacations she only dreamed about.

In the past weeks, I have learned so much about my mom, my family, and myself. I have read so many letters that my grandparents and family wrote to me when I grew up—and the letters I had sent to them—which my mom had kept after cleaning up their homes after they passed! There were letters from friends of my parents, letters from my friends, and most of all, letters full of love. And yes, many tears have fallen on the letters.

There were many things I had forgotten, or I had created a different reality in my mind. From the letters, I have learned that my mom gently guided me while often sacrificing her dreams. I have learned how proud she was of my accomplishments, as I have found the clippings of so many of my newspaper interviews and recordings of radio or television interviews. I had forgotten … but she had kept.

Steward of the past

My mom was not only a steward of my life but also a proud steward of the past—both my past and that of so many generations before me.

Looking at all the old letters, books, photos, and diaries kept with care in my mom's house, I felt great pride and a great responsibility also to be a steward of the past.

However, as I do not have the opportunity to keep it all, I called a Danish Museum. Two different departments came to the house, told me what I had found was "gold," and asked if I would donate it to the Museum to keep and care for?and for future generations to have access to.

And so, I did - I donated the diaries, pictures, paintings, letters and the old book from 1778 by D. Caspari Erasmi Brochmands that my dad's aunt had dedicated to me with the explicit condition that I couldn't sell it or let anyone borrow. All keepers of the book had signed it – with signatures back from 1796. So, before giving it to the Museum, I also signed it – looking at the names and beautiful handwriting from 1796, 1804, 1823 … and writing my name to the list was very special.

I'm very proud to be part of a story—part of a family that has saved something for over 200 years. I hope previous generations, my mom, the brothers who emigrated to Canada, and my dad's aunt, who dedicated the book to me, will appreciate that part of their life stories now will be cared for and kept by the Museum for future generations to learn from.

Being a Steward of the Future – is also being a steward of the past and learning... as some of the wise words my dad's aunt (who dedicated the book to me in January 1974, when I was a child ) wrote in a note that I translated below: ?

"For Helle

Your generation and the next will have much work to do to repair the damage our generation caused because we thought we were more intelligent than the generations before us.?Being a grateful, respectful human with a good upbringing will give the tools to do the job."

I hope we all will be stewards of the past and use that wisdom to be stewards of the present and the future.