My consumerism of the last post definitely stems from my wish to pass on to my kids good stuff that's intimately associated with me. I like the idea of my son having/using the watch his father used or my daughter signing her wedding registry with the fountain pen her father always used. Watch company's try and sell you their top of the line watches and call them heirloom pieces; however, I've come to the conclusion that most of the time a mid-range product will do just fine. Moreover, I'm much more attached to the idea of an heirloom piece having value associated with the stories it comes with rather than any intrinsic value, e.g., solid gold. For instance, if I wrote my PhD thesis with my fountain pen that would be an object I could proudly pass on with a story attached to it.
My father, at my daughters baptism, has actually passed on a wall hanging to my daughter because it is something that has been passed down through the women in his family. Because my grandmother had no daughters, the brocade went to him and he passed it down to Asha. Irmina has had it appraised and it just so happens it is valuable but to me this is secondary to the fact that it's an object with meaning. It's another reason that I wanted to buy Asha and Finn expensive Steiff teddy bears (although I haven't yet). I want the expensive ones because I know that they will last for another fifty years without disintegrating. I'll always remember watching the antiques roadshow and seeing this elderly woman talk about the teddy bear that her parents gave her when she was a little girl (I think it was a Merrythought--another expensive brand).
This is why I really have less interest in cars or electronics (although I admit my interest isn't zero--those LCD TVs are really dropping in price.)
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