One of my tasks this summer is to sort through all of the stuff I've kept in my desk and closet that I can throw out to make room for things accumulated in college (which I imagine I'll sort through and throw out a few more years down the road). Today I uncovered the top of my desk and went through all the drawers. Now there are piles spreading across the floor and a couple bags of recycling.
Some of the things that I once thought important to save are pretty funny to me now – for instance, the program to the 2003 Covenant College Graduation Senior Banquet. I've had a habit of keeping programs and playbills from events I've been to. Most of those I threw out, but I did keep a few that remind me of particularly special times, like seeing The Lion King on Broadway with Valerie and my 4th grade marionette play.
As much as I want to have few possessions, I find getting rid of stuff kind of difficult. I've had a bulletin board hanging over my desk for years with cards, tickets, pins, and photos stuck to it. It's not so much that I find it aesthetically appealing anymore, but it's been there so long and every object on it is familiar and has some story attached. Today I pulled everything off of it and took the board down. Most of the things on it I threw out or put away to file somewhere else, but a few things I didn't quite want to part with yet so I can stumble upon them again and think about the memories associated with them.
A sampling:
– my ticket to the Emmanuel Ax and the NY Philharmonic performing the Brahms Piano Concerto #2 on February 17, 2007
– my medallion for placing third in the something-dash at the 4th of July events in Colgate Park. The guy officiating the race had to chase me through the crowd because I didn't realize I'd placed. Then I got to accept the medallion and shake the mayor's hand. It was pretty special.
– my Presidential Physical Fitness badge from 5th grade. If I throw it away, who will believe me that I earned it?
Other gems that I discovered in the desk drawers include my 6th grade country report on the Czech Republic and several years worth of annual reports from the Seeing Eye. The former was saved for posterity; the latter are going to recycling.
1 comment:
I hear you - not an easy process, but a good one. Say good-bye and get rid of those things! (after all, these are inanimate objects we're talking about...but what if the grandchildren want to see them? These are the swirling arguments). That said, I also still have a medal from a 4th of July race one summer at your park. Good memory.
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