Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for October 18, 2022

Yeah, a growing trend lately…no one wants to inherit the Good China. It was a fad a century ago, and has totally played out.

Well there you go, family history doesn’t play to well for a lot of the younger generations.

Yeah Janis. It usually works like that.

I was involved in disposing of my parents’ estate when this arc originally ran in 2018. It’s sadly true. It’s a generational thing. No one wants sets of china, silver tea services, collector plates, figurines, antiques, and family heirlooms any more.

Younger generations want memories and stories more than stuff.

Family recipes are very important. Most older cooks don’t use measurements. Make sure someone figures that out and writes them down. We had most of my mom’s but missed a couple.

Video that includes your voice, maybe telling stories of your life and memories of your parents and kids, would be amazing also.

The few minutes from within my wedding video were all any of the grandkids got to see of my dad.

I live in a retirement community. My garage is floor to ceiling with old family memories. None of which my kids or grand kids want in their home; however, all of which are far too sentimental to dispose…one person’s nostalgia is the rest of the world’s junk.

My motto: If you own something you love, use it and avoid sad regrets.

We inherited my husband’s grandmother’s bone china. I adored it! Used it every Thanksgiving and Easter for 15 years, despite having to hand-wash. Had to sell it for pennies when we downsized, but have lots of photos of family gatherings.

Back in 1970, my husband-to-be gave me two Spode Christmas Tree place settings. We added a bit year after year and still use it 3 meals a day from Thanksgiving through New Years. The kids will sell or trash it, but that doesn’t matter.

When my mom passed, I took what was sentimental to her to my home. It reminds me of her every time I use them. When I read her will, there wasn’t much, but she left silver to my oldest daughter and a diamond ring to the youngest daughter. Neither wanted them, so I kept them. The younger generation is not interested which I think is so sad.

I understand what she’s saying . . .it’s something she loves and so she wants to share that treasured item with her children. Sometimes, though, the receipient doesn’t understand the sentimental value. Janis should just keep, enjoy, and then pass them along in her will.

We inherited a set of fine china tea set that I wish we had room to display. Not valuable, but so striking as it’s covered with dragons.

Take it down and use it!! That’s how memories are made and why things have special meaning.

She should have at least one tea party before she gets rid of it.

Sell it on Craigslist or Fartbook’s Marketplace.

Got rid of my wedding china years ago. No regrets.

The kids take pictures on their phones of everything they do and I mean everything! Then the phone breaks and all gone! The worst part is those annoying horrible vertical skinny pictures. The phone gets heavier if you take a decent horizontal photo, I guess. The funny part is they have to wave it around to get the whole scene whereas holding horizontal, you get it in one shot.

After my mother died I found a tablecloth hand-crocheted by my grandmother that my mother had never used (to my knowledge) so as to preserve it.

I bought some Noritake china when I was in the Navy. 45 years and I’ve never used it.

Sometimes the perceived value of heirlooms will skip a generation.

Kitchens these days are full of insta-pots and cookers and mixers, and there’s no more room for fancy things to use once or twice a year. And heaven forbid something that would have to be hand washed!

This is known as the first hand off!

some of those family heirlooms are worth a lot of money today and some you have to be-careful with they may be radioactive or have lead in them.

You have to almost give it away at garage sales.

an ugly truth… no one wants all the stuff you’ve collected

No one wants the beautiful old china. Has to be hand-washed!

I have my Great-grandmothers’ silver, no one wants it. Lucky for me I knew my GG-she was fabulous.

We put our parents’ “fine china” up for sale after they passed on. Never used it, and you couldn’t wash it in the dishwasher.

These strips are re-runs from 2018.

It would be nice to see the kids again and find out how they’re all doing but Jimmy is probably too busy enjoying his beautiful Gulf Coast beaches and delicious seafood.

If Janis wanted him to have an attachment to the dishes she should have used them while he was growing up. Maybe showed him pictures or who she inherited it from. Told him stories of memories she had of when her grandmother used them. In short, she needed to create new memories with Gene that connected him to her old memories.

My gr daughter was glad to take the china that was her Gr Grandmothers & Gr Aunts. She was young when they died. She even bought a hutch to put them in. She has lots of parties but always uses paper. Oh well, at least they are gone. lol

I would love to have something my great grandparents owned. Myself, my dad, his dad, his dad, his dad, and his dad were all born in a 20 mile radius of each other, but nothing “physical” has remained past grandpaw, I do have his old wooden cane.

Tiny house movement, downsizing. No one wants that stuff.

Hell, I didn’t want most of the crap that belonged to my mom when she died, and I knew her all my life