Clarity and Memories

I read this today:  "They say that when people get old, they get clarity about what’s important and what isn’t."

My mom and I are such different people.  At 85, she sold the house she lived in for 60+ years and moved to Arizona.  If what I read is a true statement at a basic level, then what does that say about Mom?  And me? 

Does that mean she didn't get the clarity referred to in that statement? Or is her "stuff" what's important? 

And now I'm wondering if I'm getting the clarity even earlier?  I have been clearing things out, reducing the stuff that's around me.  I know that what has meaning to me is different than what has meaning to mom. When I sit with her watching TV, I gaze at the stuff she has accumulated. I fact, I was chuckling in a conversation with my brother about her stuff:  are we going to fight over the bell given to her by her friend Lois? Nah.  Hehehe

Memories are more important than stuff.  I would rather look at old photos and hear a story about the pic than look at a bell, or statue, or a vase.

I have many, many photos from my grandmother (no one else wanted them!) And find myself wishing that she had been the one to show them to me, to tell me who the people were,  and the stories behind them. 

Maybe some families are better at passing along the family stories than mine has been.  It's probably why I do what I do ... to keep the stories going. 

This was one of my grandmother's photos. Who are these kids? I'm guessing, but probably her two daughters, my father is the boy in the middle, and his cousin is the other boy. But just guesses. 

The car plate shows the year 1943.  But whats the rest of the story? Was this a new family car? Were they on their way to church? Or the neighbors house?  

Yes, that's me, I want the stories.  

And I want to pass them on.