DID WE LOOK LIKE THAT . . . ?

If you ever want a whirlwind tour of your personal past, I recommend starting with the Stuff stored in your attic, cellar, boxroom, or garage. Or maybe it's in that new shed you put in the back corner of the yard.

My recent safari into that jungle--garage, in my case--led to some interesting encounters. Nothing man-eating, so far. Nothing poisonous. Nothing contagious. (I think. I hope.) But what I found certainly tickled my fancy, made me shake my head, and laugh out loud. Not bad for a morning's foray into the depths.

Here's the scenario:

--My youngest daughter came
to live with me in mid-June; she brought some furniture, household goods (pots/pans, towels, et al.), paper (business files, mainly), and essentials like books, videos, CDs, clothing, and interesting items acquired in her travels. And a car.

--I've lived in this house 35+ years, with miscellaneous furniture, household goods (some of which could be used more often), paper (letters received, receipts, tax returns), and my own collection of the above essentials. And a vehicle.

--In order to get my daughter's Main Stuff into the house, we stored much of it in the garage--nicely arranged, more-or-less organized (my daughter excels at Organization on a Grand Scale), allowing for ease of movement when bringing in groceries or looking for a Certain Something that is probably in that box over there.

--Time passes. My daughter gets a couple of paying jobs. This cuts down on the hours she can spend going through the Stuff in the garage.

--I work best at sorting/discarding/donating when I have encouragement--such as a Sorting Buddy who will give me feedback. "Will we ever use this?" I ask. "Um, maybe. Let's keep it." Or, she says, "Doubt it." I say, "We'll donate it." And it goes into the Donations box. Or, if not donate-able, into the trash bag or recycling box.

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Last Sunday we spent too much time (aching muscles reminded us later) in the garage, but the results were worth it, I think.

My trek through the Jungle of the Past was quite entertaining.

--photos: Did we really wear glasses like that? And those clothes! Oh, it was the 70s, after all.

--old issues of magazines that I was sure, back then, I'd want to keep. Clothing styles not much better in the 80s and 90s. Hair styles, ditto. 

--Envelopes! Greeting cards! Letters! It was like getting a mailbox stuffed full! I looked at the return addresses--family members from Iowa, Illinois; friends from Indiana who went to Ohio or Florida. Throw those away? Never! Well, not right now, anyway. Letters are kept. Greeting cards read again and possibly kept; we'll see.

--Boxes marked "Quilt Stuff" brought surprises. I found brand-new quilt patterns (small projects are often sold as single patterns in a plastic envelope); some I'll probably keep and try. Others I'll share with a friend who likes to make Small Stuff. And a couple of them I've actually used to make wall-hangings for friends or family.

--Besides commercial patterns and magazines, I found patterns for quilts I'd designed myself. Some included colored pencil suggestions for the design. And some of those had also been used--labeled "Donna's quilt," or "Kathy's healing quilt."

--fabrics: a mixed bag--some were scraps from long, long ago projects--not usable in a current quilt and probably not salvageable after being stored in a garage for 35 years. But the other side of that coin was a bag of still usable fabrics in larger yardages. I vividly recall the garments I was going to make with them; I won't make those things now, but I can use the fabrics for other projects, possibly as cushion covers, or sofa throws.

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What I enjoyed most was my 2 1/2-hour trip down memory lane. It was a visit with my past--old friends (people, books, fabrics), old creative endeavors; and reminders that I'd always had ambition to make things, write stories, read interesting books.

Sometimes we need a chance to see our former selves and greet them like friends. Because, after all, they're part of who we are today.

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There's a darker side to that memory walk--we all encounter
reminders that some of the folks we loved most have left us; they moved away or died, going on to a better life, we trust, and we remain here with the ailments of life in 2020. We might even think we'd be better off out of here. But that's hindsight--and that one is always "20-20". We never know what's ahead--could be better than we've ever seen. So our job is to keep on keeping on.

Right now, I'm enchanted by the ways people manage to celebrate life--holidays, special events, former types of entertainment--when they're unable to get together. The Internet and all the social media venues have given us some good gifts.

Till next time, keep on celebrating life.