I have always been reluctant (a euphemism for unwilling) to throw away old things. I'm not a hoarder, I do force myself to ditch most junk. But I have a lot of "stuff" from my ancient past taking up space on bookshelves and in closets. Not junk, STUFF.
I have begun to imagine my daughter and son-in-law cleaning out our house, getting it ready to sell, after we pass. From where I'm sitting I can see a bookshelf with photos of all the cats we have had, a battered copy of The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet, Mistress Masham's Repose, and all my high school yearbooks. I see my 1950's St. Joseph Missal sitting between two of my mother's old bibles. I'm not a practicing Catholic, you know what I mean? It's nostalgia. I also have more photo albums than I care to admit. Oh gee, there's a Fuzzy Wuzzy kitty bank our grandchildren gave us sitting on the third shelf down. I wonder if I still have that pink piggy bank that granddaughter E painted for me 18 years ago?
This is just one bookshelf, mind you. Yesterday I was texting with friends about Captain Kangaroo, and I asked them if they remembered a book he read on his show, Millions of Cats. They didn't. I had a copy and ran to get it so I could show them the great cover art. Then I remembered I passed that book on to a great niece just last year. I was annoyed with myself, until I realized nobody really wanted to see the cover art. And if they did, I could google the book title to get the cover art.
I really have to start thinking about old things in a different way. And I need to let my daughter know I'm fine with her throwing away all my stuff when I'm gone. I am just sorry I couldn't seem to do it myself.
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| Yep, the third book down is a reissue of the 1950's era Baltimore Catechism |
There's going to be a lot of garbage as we baby boomers die off. I try to winnow every six months or so but still there will be crap my daughter doesn't want. Sigh. It was the same with my mum, things she thought were valuable, but they were only valuable to her.
ReplyDeleteAs my mother-in-law got older she began to make gifts to all of us. Most of the gifts were items we had given her and meant so much to us because of that. Please consider leaving the Bibles in your will.
ReplyDeleteGood luck but DO make a start. One item a time. For your grandchildren's sake. We took pictures of stuff and showed it around family for any reaction before we got rid of a lot, but stuill more to go. In fact, we sold a fair bit of it on ebay and used the proceeds to get more stuff - no, I'm joking. We donated the money. Felt really good.
ReplyDeleteMillions of Cats!! Someone who lives at my condo complex must have been letting go of old books because I picked that up off the free-book shelf and read it not that long ago. I have old things that I will keep and other old things that I have been able to let go of. Each year around this time, I try to look through my belongings and see if there is anything else I am willing to give away or sell. I'm always surprised to see that I'm willing to let go of old things I thought I would never let go of.
ReplyDeleteI hope I outlive my quirky cat! Can't imagine letting go of Harpo!
I've downsized three times. Easier every time. But recently a grandson asked the history of a framed memento. I told him, and thought to myself, maybe there's hope for what I curated.
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