Sifting Through Memories
I have spent much of these ‘at home’ holidays, on improving my home. When my daughter moved out, my son claimed her room and lets just say the transition was quick and rough. Things have been shoved and tucked away and as a result out of the four rooms upstairs, only one has been fit to be in. I have a lot of storage space up there too, yet it has been very poorly utilised.
I have spent today sorting through the ‘stuff’ my daughter has kept during her 18 years so far. Her dad dropped in to see my son today and declared she had a similar stash at his place! She also has another ‘home’ in Melbourne with all the important stuff she needs.
I have discussed this sorting out with her and she agreed that she didn’t really need to keep every assignment and workbook she had filled in the 13 years at school. I have also culled some of the things I know she wouldn’t want. So we have boxes of karate memories, travel memories (she has been to US, Italy and NZ, as well as around Australia), cards and letters (who knew kids wrote to each other so much and in such a variety of ways!), photo’s, important school stuff (certificates, school captain badges, photos, awards etc), soft toys, journals and diaries and performance stuff (music, drama, debating, choir).
There was so much, I didn’t really have time to read her diaries and letters as I always feared my mum would when I moved out of home. I did reflect though on how much she has achieved in her life. She’s awesome!
The room is empty now and the boxes are labelled and taped up and sitting in one of the storage areas. I wonder when/if she’ll ever look at it all again. I just couldn’t get rid of it all. I don’t feel as sad as I thought I would, but it has been months since she left, so perhaps that’s why it took so long.
Signs of Letting Go
So yesterday I read the column about de-cluttering, referred to in my last post. Ruth was pondering parting with the lock of the boyfriends hair and it seemed like it was going to be released the way the article was going.
Tonight I watched episode 13 of season one of The Gilmour Girls(I’m loving this right now and have secured for a winter of watching, season’s 2 & 3). It was the episode where they go to The Bangles concert. Ah the memories of walking like an Egyptian!
Anyway Luke gave his exes sparkly jacket to the junk sale and Lorelei bought it, attracted as she was to the sparkles and wore it without realising it belonged to his ex-girlfriend and he reacted and she found out about the ex and demonstrated some interest in him by being obsessively curious about her. Are you following this?
I could relate to the obsessively curious borderline jealous thing. Then she did the totally understanding and mature thing and gave him back the sweater, I so wish I had done something this mature and together once in my life around the jealous issue thing. I know there have been moments when I could have, just the moment always passed before I managed to put it into action.
So Ruth let go, Luke didn’t, the signs are there. This weekend I have let go of shabby linen that has been bulking up my storage space. Oh and piles of leftover dry biscuits that were the last ones in the pack and kept getting stuffed into the air tight container. There must have been 20 or so plastic wrappers with one salada in it. They were all stale though, so I’m questioning whether the airtight container, is in fact air tight. Perhaps the container should go too.