Our goal for the month of June is to decide
what to do with all of our possessions that we have accumulated over the past
25 years. The feeling has one of both happiness and sadness in that some small
piece of paper might remind you of news that you would have rather not received
or a note from a friend with whom you are no longer close. In many ways you
relive your life as you pull long lost and forgotten tokens, trinkets and
sundry items from tubs marked Baby Clothes/Hannah, or Art Work/Gunner. By the third child (Satchel) Karen had it
down to a science (ever her way) to the point that if a comet were to strike,
archeologists could easily study our family history. What would they take from
these future discoveries rooted in our past? The one they call “Karen” loves
precious moment figurines and managed to save her favorite papers from middle
school through master’s degrees. Hannah had an affinity for horses and the
color pink. According to the photo data it could be inferred that Hannah was
celebrated amongst one set of grandparents above all others and was more than a
little spoiled (if that is even possible). The tubs marked Satchel reflect a
complex mix of a child who enjoyed everything from playing musical instruments
to playing with action figures. He enjoyed reading and the occasional attempt
at playing sports. Gunner’s tubs would reflect of an eclectic mix of coin
collector, amateur novel writer, World War II historian, and music nerd. I am
sure that my tubs would reflect the confused pack rat that I am now and have
always been. In a scary way the tubs are whom we have been which makes me think
what will our (you readers included) tubs look like in another 25 years? Will
they keep the older tubs in mind when we reflect on the things that we should have
tossed out long ago or will we hide them away always an unseen part of
ourselves? Will we create new tubs that reflect how we changed for the better?
Will new friends stay around long enough to be old friends? Will we be the type
of people worth having a place in the tubs of others? Will we keep the junk out
our tubs (lol my tubs were loaded with total garbage that have no real meaning
to me) and only focus on that which is meaningful?
A future with better tubs is what I really
want to have. Tubs more like my teacher tubs that are full of pictures, gifts,
cards and notes from 15 years of serving my wonderful families. Maybe we are
all at our best when we are doing that for which we are created (if you believe
in that sort of thing).
For now the tub junk has been shuttled away
by our good friends at Deffenbaugh Trash Service. Karen combined the best of
her items and mine as well and that is the way it should be as together I
believe we are both at our most wonderful. We tried to hold on only to items that
created a positive memory or energy. We asked the boys to do the same as well.
All the tubs are now safe in storage ready for the time that they can be
gathered up and given to the kids. One day Karen and I will have a house again
and we will unpack all of that wonder bought by time with value gained through
thought and decorate that place we make our home, from the doll that our
daughter loved, the action figures that each boy would swear was his own, and
the All-State Band Award that Karen won during her Senior year. Each
“meaningless” object tied to a thought, feeling, date, or action that sparked
other actions.
Lol… What was this blog post about? I forget.
