House of Memories.

Today’s Marketing Cookie is a heartfelt reminder that joy can be found in the treasured memories of shared moments.

We opened the crawl space under the stairs, and with a few waves of the hand to brush away decades of cobwebs, we couldn’t believe what we found.

After 50 years in their old house near the southern banks of Rockland Lake in upstate New York, Lolo and Lola were convinced it was time to pack up, sell, and move south. They were trading the harsh ice and snow for the promise of the mild winter weather of the Carolinas.

The house sold quickly. With urgency, my wife and I made a final trip to New York to help them prepare their house for the new owners. They were downsizing into a fully furnished home, meaning they couldn't bring much with them.

As the first owners of that old house, it had witnessed  every moment of their lives. The big open living room hosted every family gathering for holidays, birthdays, graduations, new babies, and welcomed visiting relatives from distant countries. We were married in front of the huge picture window, and even though we owned a house of our own, it was the place we always thought of as “home.”

We worked room by room to remove all tangible evidence that anyone once lived there. That famous dent in the wall had been carefully patched. The funny little sketches or the initials of first young loves that had been secretly drawn inside the closet were painted over. The bedroom door that once declared, "No boys allowed!" was replaced. And the tiny holes made by thumbtacks that once held posters of rock bands or teenage heartthrobs were all filled in. By the end of the week, every memory witnessed in that house, every trace of its living history, was unceremoniously tossed, sterilized, and erased.

Then we opened the crawl space.

Hidden under the stairs, we discovered dozens of paintings that Lolo had created over the years and had hidden away. We all remembered him spending countless hours toiling over various works in the garage. When finished, he gave them away. 

Every member of the family feels privileged and proud to have one of his works gracing the walls of their home, although he didn’t hold the same regard for his wonderful creations. He appreciated his work but was always quickly moving on to his next painting, eager to express something new. It wasn’t until seeing today’s fortune that I’ve come to realize that for Lolo, his joy was found in creating the paintings themselves, not in hanging them on the wall.

Perhaps there’s comfort for us knowing that the joy Lolo found in creating, rather than having, is just like the memories we lived, rather than keeping the room where they happened. Although we’ll never hear those squeaky steps or be able to return there again, the real joy is in remembering the moments we shared, not in the dusty remnants left behind. Like Lolo’s paintings that captured moments once seen, the memories once lived now reside in our hearts, no matter what place we now call “home.”

Beyond suggesting that we find joy in the act of creation, today’s fortune also urges us to cherish experiences over possessions and to value the journey as much as the destination when it says, “You will find joy in the process of pursuing your hobby, not just in the end result.”