Garage

The storage boxes, the shelves

They're a little less full, a little less disorganized. 

I finally plucked out the motivation (the discipline to leave the kitchen for a little while) and opened these things I've left behind

Different boxes holding different tokens from my life, holding different things from the different phases, making it so recognizable when that box came about, which part of my life those little pieces and bits were collected.

Combed through the boxes holding different things: 

camp name tags, lanyards (I have plenty)  yearbooks, little notes, random gifts. I even found a huge box of price tags from the clothes I purchased, mind you

A whole drawer full of hair accessories that were necessities during all my years in ballet, boxes of postcards from all over the world-

But long story short I threw a whole bunch of things out. 

And it's funny because the whole reason why all these things were collected was because I thought keeping them physically was the only way of keeping a certain bit of the past in memory. 

I didn't even know I had a few hundred bobby pins, easily more than a dozen hairnets and a great deal of scrunchies and ribbons and fancy clips. It's crazy how my parents invested so much in me, and it breaks me a little to know I was not so invested in these, and just tucked them in a drawer. 

It was easier this time, throwing a lot of things out.

All that browsing through and sorting brought back a whole rush of memories and reminiscing. But being away and moving from a place to another has taught that you can't hold onto everything. You can't bring your box of collected price tags or lanyards with you. Those little stickers, the little notes. You can't pack them into your suitcase because of baggage constraint, because you pick clothes and books and letters more close to the heart instead. You won't bring your stash of everything because you soon realize you don't need it, and that you can live without it. 

So a great deal of things have been taken out. All those past bulletin books, camp schedules, etc etc. The little notes and cards and gifts got filtered from one box to another- marking how so many things have changed all this time, and these are things to keep. For little laughs, reminiscing of lessons, reflections of life all bittersweet. 

It was nice. A heartwarming kind of nice, walking through childhood once more. 

But I threw them out-- there needs to be more room for what's coming and in store. It feels good with more space in the shelves and drawers, if I may add. 

And not to worry. The bits of the past have a safe place in my head and my heart.