Journal #13, Week 5

What item do I own, of little monetary value do I own that I wouldn't sell for $5000?

The first thing that comes to mind when I read this question was my family. Probably the most sacred family possession I own are sally and my wedding pictures (and video). It's tough to say they are of little monetary value since we spent hundreds of dollars on them, but in the free market they have little value to anyone outside our family.

A wedding day is a special day for a couple that they often won't realize until much later. I remember arguing with my wife about what pictures we needed and who needed to be in them. I was stressing over the $20 here and there that added up. In the end, it was more than worth what we spent. The memory of that day is minimal in my mind anymore, but the photographs & video are so special.

Sally's father, whom she was extremely close with, passed away 6 months after our wedding. I remember always knowing him as he was near the end, which was very sick with chronic diabetes. Seeing Sally walk down the aisle with him and his cane instead of in his wheelchair had the entire ceremony near tears - and Sally was bawling as she walked. Their first dance, he discarded the cane and embraced her for the entire song which was another tear jerker.

My grandparents on my father's side are also in the twilight of their lives and my grandfather resides in a nursing home and is currently confined to a wheelchair. The memories we captured of them are exactly how I want to remember them both. They were happy, dancing, and generally enjoying themselves that day. To look back at that always makes we well up with happiness.