Bring a useful memento home

Mom proudly showed us the “clutter” display. That’s what she called the tables on which she had displayed everything she absolutely did not want to take with her when she moved to a smaller place.

My brother, sister and I had the privilege to choose the things we wanted to save.

You can imagine my consternation when I recognised the souvenirs that we had warmly brought back from our vacations: a pasta dish from Tuscany, Tyrolean kitchen towels, a bread basket from Marrakesh, lavender scented sachets from Provence, whiskey glasses from Edinburg, an eye of the gods from Crete, a whole series of refrigerator magnets …

I must admit that my anger disappeared as soon as I realised that I didn’t want these mementos either (except for the pasta dish). Since then, we never bring back useless souvenirs.

I’ve discovered something much more fun. We now bring home everyday items like : soap, detergent, oil, honey, spices … Every time we use these, it’s like we’re still on vacation.

And when we run out, it means we are in desperate need of a new vacation 😉

Tip to make you smile
Bring something ‘useful’ back from your vacations, so that you can prolong the vacation feeling a little longer at home.