This January 2020, I discovered the show The Legacy List hosted by Matt Paxton. Paxton and his crew are invited into Baby Boomer homes to help pack up the household before moving. He asks the homeowner(s) for a legacy list of historically and personally important things they’d like to find amongst their belongings.
The television show was timely as I met with an attorney earlier this month to create a new will and trust. I don’t intend to die anytime soon. Nor am I squeamish about planning for my death. I want to make closing out my life easier for my loved ones.
I wondered what my tangible and intangible legacy list would be. This exercise caused me to be more sentimental than I thought I’d be. Photos were a given to keep. I also chose:
Munro paperweight purchased in Sapporo, Japan, during my early-twenties. It symbolizes my wanderlust and the globe.
A Native American style drum I made. I like the sound, and my fingerprints are forever in the leather and sinew.
A belt buckle that belonged to my maternal grandfather.
And last, an 8”x10” abstract painting that reminds me of the North Dakota prairie.
I’m certain I'll add to this list.
On the national scene, a presidential impeachment Senate trial is happening. The media is discussing the legacy of choices and decisions. I went mentally back and forth, considering the reach and lasting effects of my everyday and significant decisions. I have no definitive verdict. I know I want to be remembered fondly by my loved ones and that my stories engage a person’s imagination so thoroughly that they immerse themselves in the characters' lives and worlds, while the real world waits.