Laura,

I don't believe any of us outgrow our need for transitional objects.  :)

Heirlooms are transitional objects connecting us formally and emotionally with our family, sometimes through many generations.

The moon can be a transitional object that connect us, even when we are on different sides of the earth.  Sun and stars too.

I visited dear and aging friends in Sweden.  I walked through a forest by a lake without them because it was beyond their capacity. Sad because we walked together for many years. Bittersweet because I knew I was learning to walk without them.

On the ground I found a black Swedish stone that, to my eyes, was shaped like the continental United States.  I brought it home and keep it in my garden. My friends are both gone now.

The stone connects me to them, to Sweden, to that forest by the lake and to the love I have for them as I physically walk without them but always carry them in my heart.

Oh yes, and don't we keep at least a few things from our children's childhood???? :) Something to bridge the years and remind us of past treasured times?