Lately, I have had to let go of a lot of things. Some bigger than others; some easier than others. I am moving into a new chapter in life and with it comes a physical move. As I have boxed up items, I have attempted to also clean out. I consider myself a sentimental gal. I have things that many people would hold on to like my mama’s bible, or my grandmother’s apron, or special Christmas ornaments.

But I also found things that I’m not sure most people would keep. I have a paper plate from each of my three children’s first birthday parties, Simba, Barney, and Winnie the Pooh. I have my retainer that I wore in middle school. I never wore braces, or I probably would have kept them too like Karla did. The button from my college years that reads, “member of the vanishing wisdom teeth club” is still in my possession. I love keeping things from the past.

After being at my daddy’s house recently and visiting the basement and his workshop, I thought to myself, when something happens to my daddy, how will we ever go through all this. My parents built the house in 1966. Fifty-one years of “stuff” has accumulated.

Let it Go

I decided I didn’t need to hoard as much and some things needed to go. After mama passed away, I was given some of her stuff. I slowly realized, that maybe I didn’t really need to keep things like her favorite gown. So over the past years, I have managed to depart with some things. I chunked her makeup, and several years later I even disposed of bandanas she wore when she lost her hair.

But then came…. Well, let me back up…

After mama passed away in 2007, Karla and I were at Daddy’s house going through her belongings. I was collecting more possessions to bring back with me as keepsakes. My mama labeled everything. There was a Nike shoe box marked miscellaneous so I took it. A few days later, I decided to open it and see what to keep and what to toss. At the bottom of the box was a small white Tupperware container. It sloshed as I picked it up. As I opened the lid, I was shocked to see Mama’s false teeth! I took a picture and sent it to Karla, and we had a good laugh.

But, what to do with them?  I could not bear to toss them in the garbage. Call me crazy if you would like, but they were a “part” of her, and I just couldn’t. One relative, who shall remain nameless, offered to bury them at her grave. Instead, I shoved them in the back of a kitchen cabinet. Out of sight, out of mind. But I was comforted by keeping them and not throwing them out.

Ten Years Later

While packing up yesterday, ten and a half years later, there they were! I knew it would be silly to move them with me. My mama would have been laughing at the entire scenario and calling me crazy for keeping them.

Sometimes I just like someone to tell me what to do. I often text Karla and tell her what to say. It may be, “Text me and tell me I am doing the right thing.”  She always obliges, not even knowing the circumstances. Needing a little push, I sent her a message that said, “Text me and say, Donna it’s time. Just do it.”

She replied with, ‘Oh Donna!  It is time! Be Nike! Just do it!” As I read her reply, I tossed them in the trash as tears rolled down my face.

Memories vs. Stuff

Memories and stuff are not the same. Memories are encoded in your brain not in the item. I don’t have to see Grandmother’s apron to picture her standing in the kitchen by the sink humming. An item triggers a memory that is already filed in one’s mind.

I have decided to let some items go, but keep them in another way. I will take a photo of them and on the back, write something about it. This would benefit my grandchildren or great grandchildren who might pull out strange items from a box, wondering whose they were or why they were kept. So as Queen Elsa would sing, “Let it Go, Let it Go!”

Will I get rid of everything? When H-E-double hockey sticks freezes over! Somethings I will never part with like my dead dog’s collar! And that’s ok.