Widow's Voice

Mementos

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I write about memories a lot. I think memories are important, especially when you lose the person you made the memory with.

A lot of us also associate inanimate objects with memories. This is one reason why it can be so hard to get rid of inanimate objects once a loved one is no longer there (whether they actually passed away, or are still alive, but no longer in your life).

This evening, Facebook showed me a “memory” from 7 years ago … a photo of a hand blown, colorful art glass float. This hangs in one of my windows in the dining room to this day. And I look at it every day, but when it showed up on my facebook feed with the “7 years ago”, the day Mario and I bought it came rushing back to me for some reason. Could just be the fact that I hadn’t realized it was that long ago (honestly, my sense of time has always been, “That was THAT long ago? It seems like just a few years ago…”).

hand blown multicolor glass ball

So 7 years ago, Mario and went camping on the Oregon coast. We stayed at the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park, which was one of our favorites. After setting up our tent and campsite, we headed south to Bandon to do some shopping, grab some dinner, and stroll along the beach. There are a couple galleries in the old town area and we’d usually stop in both. In the first gallery, Mario spotted the art glass float. We both thought it was incredibly cool how the artist was able to get “strings” of glass on the inside of the orb. We decided to buy it, went and had some dinner, and then walked on the beach before going back to the campsite.

We did that sort of thing a lot when camping, which I’m sure is a little different than most people do tent camping. We’d often pick campgrounds (especially on the Oregon coast) that were nearby a favorite restaurant. We both loved good food and going out to eat. We did plenty of hot dogs over the campfire too, don’t get me wrong.

There are a number of art pieces in my house from trips over the years. As artists ourselves, we were always interested in both looking at art and buying art to support other artists. So each one has a story. Each one represents moments in time. Mementos of memories that get further away as each year passes.

About Sherry Holub

I met my spouse, Mario, at UCLA School of Art in 1993. After graduating in 1995, I founded a small agency specializing in web and graphic design. Mario became my partner in the company in 1999. In 2002, we were married at the Costa Mesa, CA court house because neither of us wanted a big wedding ceremony (after already being together since 1995).

Mario was a highly talented artist, musician, illustrator and 3D Designer, but a tortured one. He was one of those gentle, creative souls who ended up burning twice as bright for half as long. Mario lost the battle with liver disease induced by alcoholism (almost exactly 6 months after he became sober) on 2/10/21.

I’m a long-time artist and writer with a background in photography who enjoys cooking, getting outdoors, staying young at heart, and sharing experiences to potentially help others. When it comes to writing, I’ve written both for fun and professionally over the years. Writing is also sometimes therapy for me and I don’t mind sharing my personal experiences with a wider audience.