Little Notes - Saving the Past

Throughout my life, it's the little notes that have always been so meaningful to me. Words painstakingly printed in pencil or scrawled hastily across a hot pink post-it note. It is the little notes that jog my memories.

Saving the past is what little notes do for me. One day if I should start to forget, I hope these notes serve as reminders. I like to think that someday perhaps the little pieces of paper so important to me will have meaning to others. They may only contain a portion of my story, but the bits they tell are the most important to me.

(Photo by Pam Irie)

This little note is so very dear to me. It's actually the back of an envelope which was folded in half to resemble a greeting card. Tucked inside is a paper heart from my son.

He was obviously very young when he made it and I could kick myself for not putting a date on it when I received it. Regardless, this little note is priceless to me. (Let this be a lesson to all you moms and dads.....date your little notes!) (Photo by Pam Irie)

Saving the past is also (in a way) preserving the future for my husband and I. Whenever I get annoyed with him all I have to do is pull out my box of little notes from my husband. They are mostly all hand drawn with quick sketches and filled with quirky prose.

I'm sure these little notes were more than likely frantically composed, but very precious to me all the same.These little love notes bring me back to the beginning and that's a fun place to be after being married over 30 years. (Photo by Pam Irie)

I nearly cried when I came upon this little note to the Tooth Fairy who was apparently MIA. Long ago when our kids were so young, money was often tight. This was undoubtedly one of those times, but our daughter was very impatient and was getting mad at the absent-minded Tooth Fairy.

(For the record, the Tooth Fairy did make an appearance that night to retrieve Riki's tooth and if I remember correctly, it happened to be a payday.) ;) (Photo by Pam Irie)

We don't have many antiques to pass on, but we do have lots of memories. My little notes give me the power to point out things which are special to me. I may even designate who I want an item to go to.

Sometimes I tear the edges of the paper before I decoupage little notes to the back of a frame or attach them under a piece of furniture. Or I can enclose the paper in a clear archival container with the object it pertains to.

Memories are more precious to me than any antique. (Photo by Pam Irie)

I've attached this little note to the back of the frame. It tells a story. (Photo by Pam Irie)

This is one of those "just because" little notes. It was enclosed in a package from our daughter and she wrote it just before a much-anticipated trip home last fall. We don't get to see our grown and married kids in the mainland as often as we'd like, so little notes like these conjur up memories of precious times together.

Remember the important things you want people to know and put these words on paper, even if it's just a post-it note. (Photo credit Pam Irie)