Sara, a young Coptic Egyptian woman in her 20s now living in Ridgewood, keeps a small silver teaspoon tucked safely in her kitchen drawer. Slightly worn at the edges, it is not used for everyday meals, but kept as something far more meaningful. She described it as one of the only objects she brought with her when she immigrated to New York.Sara was born and raised in Egypt, where she remembers her father using the spoon to feed her when she was a child. “He always used this one,” she said, holding it carefully between her fingers. Over time, it became associated not just with meals, but with care, routine, and the quiet moments of being looked after.When she moved to the United States, the spoon came with her—small enough to carry, but too important to leave behind. Years later, after her father passed away, its meaning deepened. What was once an ordinary object became something irreplaceable, holding memories that could not be recreated.When I asked why she kept it instead of using it, she explained, “I don’t want to lose it.” The spoon now lives separately from the rest of her utensils, taken out only occasionally, held more than used.In Ridgewood, where life moves quickly and routines are constantly shifting, Sara says the spoon grounds her. It connects her to a version of home that no longer physically exists, but continues through memory.She believes that small objects carry the weight of entire relationships. For her, this teaspoon is not just something from her childhood—it is a lasting connection to her father, preserved across time, distance, and loss.

– Ounay Tawadrous

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child