Waste Not, Want Not

My parents are moving 1000 miles away, which is mostly good because it is a lot closer to me but a little sad because I really love that house. Over Christmas, my mom mentioned that I still had several large tubs in my old room. I thought it may be helpful in their moving process if I tried to cut down on the stuff they had to lug to Utah. However, as I went through my childhood memories, I struggled to get rid of anything. Even though most of these things I haven't seen or thought about in several years, when I was actually faced with the decision of whether to save it or not, I suddenly turned into a sentimental fool.

Of course there was the normal photo albums, debate trophies and cross-stitches but I thought I might share with my faithful blog readers some of the more eccentric items I found:

- Intergalactic Cow Day t-shirt, circa 1992

- A foley catheter insertion kit from my nursing school days (I actually did throw this away)

- "If You Give an Armadillo a Pizza"- my original short story from third grade that got an A+

- 14 Donny and Marie LP's with matching record player

- Roggenvolkornbrot- Canned bread from communist-era east Germany, given to me by a member while I was on my mission. I'm told that it has enough preservatives to last for another 50 years.

- A dolphin toothbrush that had been boiled and bent into a bracelet. I almost wore it back to Seattle until I remembered that it wasn't 1996 anymore. Man, I miss 7th grade.

This is just off this top of my head. There was tons of stuff like this in there. Why do I keep this

stuff? Part of me says, you never know when you might need it. But seriously? Will there ever come a time when I will suddenly have a need for the dried corsage that I wore to my brother's wedding eight years ago? Doubtful. But I'll keep it anyway.

What does this say about me? Mostly I think it says that I have been very blessed. That I had a happy childhood full of good memories. That I have good parents who helped me develop talents. That I went to schools that helped me reach my full potential. That despite normal growing pains, I have loved my life. And that makes me excited for my future life. I still have tubs to fill.

Maybe in another 10 years, I'll be able to part with some of these gems but for now I'm content to be a packrat. And if you comment on my blog, I'll keep it forever.