Jan, in my attic is a single cardboard box. It contains the accomplishments of my father. He used to show dogs & take photos. That box contains boxes of slide carousels (no one has a projector for them anymore) and an array of ribbons, trophies, & articles about his dogs.

My father has been dead for 28 years. And I've already told my children - this box will be theirs to sort through &/or destroy. For as much as my father was a rather slip-shod parent, I still cannot bring myself to discard/sort through these last little bits of his life. It also took me over 2 years to put the date of death on the tombstone which marks the gravesite he shares with my mother. Once the date was carved into the stone - I had to come to terms with the fact that I was an orphan at 35.

Journals can be double-edged swords. My mother-in-law's journal was filled with descriptions of her daily life. Mine have been where I poured out my poison. I don't think you need to read them. Just having them near - even in a closet (or an attic) preserves something of the parent we no longer have. And most of the time - that's all we really need.