Friday, August 27, 2010

Up in the attic again....


I am on a (continual) quest to clear out my "full-of-junk" attic...so,I headed up there this morning with good intentions...and an armful of garbage bags. 

Of course, this always ends up being a time of emotional reflection and reminiscing...and, this morning was no different....but, I was determined to begin the clean up process...

Making my way through boxes filled with books and papers from my boy's school days....I had to stop and smile at some of these precious items.  How could I ever throw out the glitter-coated popsicle stick ornament with a photo of Jeffrey hanging from a hand-made paper cut-out baseball? Or, his report on Alexander Graham Bell with photos of  the so-called modern telephones?

And, what about the report cards with glowing notes from their teachers?  These must be saved to show to their own children especially when the grandkids are teenagers and begin to find fault with their parents....and, I promise you guys, it will happen. It is actually a rite of passage that all kids go through.

Oh, there are so many letters that were written throughout the years. Some were from the Army days right after I was married. But,  I found an especially sweet one from my oldest son, Adam, written when he was in Jr. High school.  His brother and dad were away on a school trip and he was letting them know that he was "bored" and needed Jeffrey to get home soon to help him play "Metroid" (?).  Misspellings and all, it was such fun to read.

I remembered all of the different stages that my boys went through by looking through some of their "treasures".....baseball, basketball, soccer, Rick Springfield, The Who, Darryl Strawberry, World Wide Wrestling, Michael Jackson, girls (!), music, music, music, etc. etc.

Among the many collections up there, I found a stamp album as well as a penny saver filled with only a very few pennies...but, it did include one from my year of birth!  The baseball card collections won't be touched until the boys can cash them in for lots of mula. I hope that really does happen...

Art work, old photos, yellowed newspaper articles, trophies, certificates, top value stamps books....and even the top of my wedding cake were found among the clutter. 

The morning got by me as I made my way down memory lane rummaging through the many boxes and bags that fill my small attic space. When did time get by me in life, too?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As I headed back down the attic staircase, I realized that my garbage bag was only half full and most of that was just scraps of paper or crumbled boxes.

How can I possibly throw out all of those wonderful memories that have been stored up there for years and years....?

I can't...

4 comments:

Annie Joy said...

You spoke my thoughts very well! I was just revisiting my high school/college scrapbook this morning to prepare for my post for today about college bulletin boards and the phone booths in the dorms. I don't think I could ever throw away those bulletin board notes or the sign-out cards from the dorm! I'll leave that to my children/grandchildren. I am going to have to do something about the yellowed newspaper clippings -- they're falling apart. Enjoy the fact that you came down with half a bag of trash! Annie

Tabor said...

They are not furs, nor jewels, nor rare antiques...but we hang on to them for dear life.

Granny Annie said...

My mother made up three large folders and put the memorabilia of each of us in our own folder then she gave them to us and now they are our problem. I'm getting ready to do the same for my children. If our kids don't like them, the grandchildren are sure to like them. It is such fun for them to see how much better they are at art projects than their parents:)

Clara....in TN said...

I'm right with you. My bag probably wouldn't have had anything in it! It's like getting rid of part of your life. I can't do it either!