Memories...like the corners of my mind

Last night Brian and I were sorting through my hope chest, looking for some specific figurines.  Oh, the things I found in there.  Talk about a trip down memory lane.  Some of the things I hadn't seen or touched in probably 20 years.  It's amazing how fast memories and feelings come rushing back when you hold something in your hands.  Like my "blankie", for example.  I pulled it out, smelled it, and rubbed the cool satin trim on my cheek.  Then like habit I started sliding the satin through my fingers, just like I did as a child.  I remember it clearly.  Okay, maybe I was a little on the "old" side for having a blankie, since I remember it so clearly.

There were old pictures.  Many, many old pictures.  Brian was fascinated with pictures of me as a pre-teen and teenager.  He would study them and say "you were pretty cute" or "I would have dated you" or "man, I did good".  Then I would say "You're creepy.  I was twelve in that picture."

What I was looking for specifically was these little girl figurines, each with a different number on them.  As a girl, my Dad would give me a figurine each year on my birthday, up until I was 16.  The first one I received was on my 6th birthday, so for a few years I received two until I was all caught up. 

Well, I had forgotten about the figurines until recently, when I realized I would really love to pass them down to Emma.  She's six now, so it's kind of fitting that she is the same age as when I received my first one.  Since tomorrow is her Kindergarten "graduation" I thought as a little gift I would give her figurines 1 - 6.  Then, we will continue on with each birthday.

So I started wondering.  Do people still have hope chests?  Or is it a tradition that's gone by the wayside?