Things

There are people who find no value in holding on to items and trinkets as remembrances. They toss greeting cards as soon as they're read. They donate their kids' clothes as soon as they're outgrown. They know that the thing; the memento; is not the memory or the person.

I am not one of those people. This has been cause for much consternation for my husband over the years. He's learned to ask about everything before he throws it away. Really? You want to keep the empty butter tub? He'll usually shrug and put it back where he found the thing, muttering as he goes about his business of trying to keep the house from becoming one of those places where people have things piled to the ceiling.

Okay, it's not that bad. But I do like to keep things. You never know when you're going to need an empty plastic tub for the kids to mix paint in, or to fill with water for them to clean their brushes. No, I don't have any empty butter tubs laying around right now. I'm using that as a hypothetical example.

But these are just the things that I think I might have a use for in the future. Those things, once I see there really isn't any need to keep them, I am able to part with pretty easily.

It's the mementos that really get me. And everything can become a memento it seems. I'm cleaning and reorganizing our basement and I came across some white paper streamers that I had stuck on a shelf. Really, it's just paper but I picked it up on the way out from the Blue Man Group concert so I kept it. I don't know what I'm planning to do with it. I imagine I'll just move it from place to place in our basement over the years until my kids find it when I'm gone. They'll shake their heads at each other and chuckle. Mom saved everything didn't she? they'll say as they toss it in the overflowing garbage can.

I keep some things simply because they were given to me by family members. I no longer use or display the thing, but I can't bring myself to get rid of it.

We're also reorganizing our bedroom to try to make room for D's crib. While dusting I found proof that I haven't dusted in there in a loooooong time. I found a prescription bottle with 7 pills in it. It was oxycodone from when K was born. Yes, more than four years ago.

What is wrong with me? Is there a pill I can take that will make me stop saving things? Gah!