The second week of My Home is a Museum project has come to an end. The time passed by really quickly, didn’t it? For this past week, I received two significantly different and yet really captivating submissions. 

Interestingly both objects are connected with close family members. What are other connections that you spot? 

Mahammad Kekalov
Baku, Azerbaijan
Bachelors student at Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC)

“I got this laminated calendar for my 15th birthday. I was in 10th grade and preparing for university, and my mom was talking about this secret gift she got me. She wouldn’t tell me what that was until it was time. I was surprised when I got this gift. I didn’t understand it. It is my grandmother, my aunt (her daughter) and I sitting down in our casual outfits. We were chatting and mom decided to take this picture. I didn’t know she would later use it to gift it to me.
I understand now what this gift means and why it’s important. It depicts the deep and valuable relationship I have with these people. We’re family here and the calendar is a celebration of our good family. My grandmother and my aunt both have helped me so much in my life and I’m grateful for that. I’m glad I have this calendar to remind me that every time I see it.
Connecting that with the theme, what really matters is our relationships and connections we have with people. We surround ourselves with people we value and we establish a thriving relationship with them that keeps us safe and sane. For me, the connection is important. I’ve had friends over the past years that at times we couldn’t really get along. But we keep coming back to each other, even after days of stress, disagreements, arguments, judgments and broken hearts because connections don’t fade away easily and connections are strong. When you have that link with someone, be it a friend, a relative, a close family member, things come and go, and the two of you stay.”

Abigail Lynn
Massachusetts, USA
Masters Student of Art History and Museum Studies at Tufts University

“My object is a blanket which my grandmother made for me when I was about four years old. A couple years after making the blanket my grandmother died and so the blanket became the strongest connection I had to her memory. Now that I am older, I still have this blanket and it continues to serve as a connection to my family. It is in times of struggle that we need our connections to our loved ones most. At times this connection is all that matters.”