It's taken four days to clean up my study. Ed came last summer looking for one snapshot and took all the boxes of photos and STUFF out of my closet and did not put them back. I really wanted to to dump them back into the closet and force the door shut with my butt. But Tom was all reasonable and supportive and suggested that we rebox everything into new smaller boxes, all the same size and label each box carefully.
The first night I sat and read letters I'd written forty years ago. Tom sat on the floor looking at photos of our boys when they were young and crying over them. I knew what he was thinking. Where did all that time go?
My favorite box is entitled, "Louise's memorabilia." Programs, snapshots, my drawings, an advertisement for summer school at the Sorbonne, the Life magazine cover of Earnest Hemingway (1961) that used to hang above my desk. I have a Utah Holiday Magazine from the same time period and I wondered why I had kept it. I looked through it and there was a long article about the coast of Maine with a huge picture of Monhegan Island, which I was obsessed with in my teens. I kept the Life magazines for the week of Kennedy's funeral and three with John Glenn on the cover. He was like a rock star back in the day.
I really liked that girl I used to be.
I threw some things out. Not the Life magazines, not my junior high school cartoons. In fact, not that much. I like to run into myself occasionally. That's why it took four days.
5 comments:
What a wonderful way to spend 4 days. i cry when we watch the videos of the kids when they were young. It makes my now grown up kids smile to see me get emotional over their childhood.
Sitting on stuff with your butt is truly the best way to clean. And since I have a formidable back side, I'm quite the house keeper. Enjoyed your post. Nostalgic...made me feel sentimental and achy inside.
I like the girl you are now, too.
Great post.
Hi, my name is Paige and I live in the small town of Burlington, Iowa and I am a seventh grader. You're books have inspired me! My favorites are Finding Daddy and My name is Sus5an Smith. The 5 is silent! I have to say I was very surprised at both books. After reading Finding Daddy for hours I finished and believe me I'm not the type that sits and reads. But, anyways when I finished I shut the book and sat their on my bed for a while. Then I relized that I was breathing hard like I was Mira. You are a great writer and all of your books are checked out of our library. Well I have to get back to my author poster for literature I chose you as my favorite author. Please write back,
Paige
Paige, I just read your comment. Thank you so much. I am so glad to hear that my books are checked out in Burlington, Iowa. Iowa is one of my favorite states, especially Pella, where the Dutch bakery, Jaarsma, is to die for. We always get off I-80 to buy goodies from Jaarsma.
The character of Mira was named after my grand-daughter.
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