O.k, so on to the stories... My fathers box I kept dark, I wanted it to represent all the things I don't know about him, the bottle says 'lost love' because my mom and dad got a divorce when I was young, and I thought my dad was completely faultless. As I got older I started to learn it was more of a mutual thing. It hurt me to learn that about him. I wanted the key to represent his opportunity to move on- as my mom has remarried but he hasn't even had a girlfriend (it's been about over 10 years).
My mom's box shows that I was really angry with her for leaving us when I was young (the word over her eyes(, but that I've started to forgive her (the metal heart pinned on her chest) and am learning that she does still love me very much. The bracelet draped over her picture says 'Deb" which is her name and was hers when she was a teenager. The dove ring was a napkin holder that was part of her family for a long time, I used to take it out of her jewelery box when I was a kid and wear it like a ring.
My grandparents box I wanted to keep simple, as they were simple people. The back paper is a recipe because they were always cooking. The photo shows the older couple giving dogs a treat, they did have a dog, but I like the image because both of the dogs are getting treats at the same time, they were always so fair and definitely spoiled us by giving us all whatever we wanted to eat (different things for everyone at breakfast, yum!) The thing in the front of their box is a small zippo lighter that says Indiana and is symbolic both because it came from them (they live in Indiana) and because my grandfather smoked (it eventually killed him).
My Aunt's box is one of my favorites. When my parents divorced she basically took on the financial responsibility for raising me (my dad didn't make too much money on his own, plus he was a heavy drinker). she turned me into a nice young lady, when I was more interested in dressing like a boy. I had a lot of anger in me after the divorce, but she never gave up on me. That's why in my picture she was a Queen (albeit a beauty queen
) And yes she was beautiful. Her embellishment is a crown made from a very old costume jewelery necklace that was given to me. Her picture is pasted over a page from "The Story of the Gospel" describing how everyone went to Jesus so they could be healed, except that the word Auntie is pasted over Jesus' name, as well as her picture. Her figurine is a porcelain doll head that I painted and weathered to look like her, because to me she always looked so perfect and right.
The in law's box is lighter than most, but I used a deep red for it, it's meant to symbolize deep love. They have been together a long time, and stayed through thick and thin. My father in law is one of the best people I know, and I don't want to air my husbands life, but that man has done a lot for that family. They got a heart shaped locket as their embellishment, and a vintage book of matches sits in the front of their box- they both smoke.
The neighbor box shows a man leaning down to look into a child's face, which is how I remember my neighbor Charles. He was there for my whole family whenever we need someone to talk to. He is very wise and always gets you thinking. He never treated me like a child, and I never doubted his friendship for a second. He was my other grandfather. He got military wings but on like an angel on his back, yes he was in the military and went to a lot of places, but he was also an angel, he helped me through many hard times. The thing in the front of his box is a very old mother of pearl pill box that he gave to me when I was a teenager. It belonged to a girl he knew that used it to hold her drugs, she ended up overdosing and now it serves as my reminder to never go down that path (his intention).
The last box is a box for all the friends in my life. The back piece of paper is from a very old book I have, it's an inscription from one friend to another and it's from 1904. The picture shows people of a variety of ages and different genders, which is how my friends are now. The star on the hair of one of the girls shows a friend that I regret I no longer have in my life, which brings me to the vintage bandaid in the front of the box. It symbolizes the fact that all my friends are mostly gone. I fall hard in friendships and it really hurts me when those friends move on for whatever reason. I guess the bandaid just shows that as you get older you patch those places up with more friends and people you love, but it can still be ripped off at anytime, and that hurts too.
I hope those of you that wanted to read these were not disappointed. And no, they aren't real photo's of my family, i wanted my idea of them represented. And all the boxes have dictionary definitions in them, I also wanted those to show how these people should be- but wanted the boxes to reflect who these people really were to me.
Have a great day!
