O poor me!

[Wild Turkey]

My sons are in their 30's and as we prepare to move to our new house and leave the one where they grew up we are getting a lot of discussions about the value of things.

They have a "disposable" mindset and nothing has value beyond what it's used for.  Doesn't matter who/what/when unless it has a use now it's time to discard and move on.

They explain that the LOML and I grew up with a "Great Depression" mindset -- keep things that might be useful in the future.

I can understand their attitude but it bothers me, especially with some things I value and know they will not.

For example the Marlin Mountie .22 rifle I bought when I was 10 with money I earned helping dad raise hogs and the glasses LOML has that her grandmother had and they survived the big earthquake in San Francisco.

Here's a poem I didn't understand until the boys grew up:

On Children
Kahlil Gibran - 1883-1931


And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.
     And he said:
     Your children are not your children.
     They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
     They come through you but not from you,
     And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
     You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
     For they have their own thoughts.
     You may house their bodies but not their souls,
     For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
     You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
     For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
     You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
     The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
     Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
     For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

[BrokenOlMarine]

I don't really have a policy that would cover this situation in my family.

If I did, it would go something like this:  The first one is free.  The second one is fair market value and probably not at the top of the list.

I make a few things here and there for the kids, heirloom items.  Cradles or presentation boxes for flags and medals.
The other things I make are meant to be used,  cutting boards, entertainment centers, jewelry boxes.  They are gifts, but respect the time invested.  Don't expect me to put the time in, then toss the items aside.  Then expect more later.