"We do not remember days; we remember moments" – Cesare Pavese
The other day I pulled up into our driveway to see a giant box leaning up against our front door. I wasn't surprised to see a box waiting for us, but I was surprised that my mom didn't tell me she sent one. Hmmmm…. RED FLAG, RED FLAG, RED FLAG. I should have known right then, but my mind just kept saying, "She's busy…she just forgot to mention it".
Nana, as the kiddos call her, is on the other side of the country and misses all her grandkids deeply. As a result, we usually get some surprises in the mail to spoil the kids. However, in one of our daily conversations she never mentioned she was sending a box like she usually does. And this was a big box…we just had Christmas! What in the world could she have possibly bought them? I mean she loves to send candy and glow in the dark sticks, but come on….this size box would contain a ridiculous amount (block party anyone?).
Thank goodness for those mommy workouts of carrying a clingy toddler around because this box was HEAVY! I lugged it up the stairs and I start to open and quickly realize the kiddos are going to go from anticipated excitement to a disappointing crash in .2 seconds. Wait for it….
Can you tell what this box is full of (my mom would say it is crap…and my husband may agree with her)? Yep…my own personal blast from the past. Yearbooks, awards, pictures, more pictures, clay handprints, etc. Oh yeah..that's a school picture of me with dreadful bangs, handmade scrunchy and pom-poms on my sweater. Want a closer look?....
My parents have been complaining about these 3 tubs full of my "crap" for years now. I mean, I have only been out of the house for 13 years. They wanted to get them out of their house while I was proud of myself to only have 3 tubs tucked away in their garage. I thought that was the job of parents...to hold on to our crap to remember all the good ole days. Am I wrong? I opened the box and really thought they disowned me. I don't think she kept anything that reminds her of me and I live on the other coast from her so she definitely doesn't see me every day. Won't my pom-pom sweater picture remind her that her daughter has absolutely no fashion sense whatsoever (things just don't change)? Ok…so I may be a little dramatic right now. Yep…definitely being dramatic. Oh well.
Of course she got a phone from me call saying, "What the hell"? She laughed and I could hear the underlying tone of "gotcha" the whole conversation. She just thought it was hilarious and then so graciously informed me this time that there are more boxes to come. Yippee (do you hear the underlying town of sarcasm?). They are coming to visit in a week and I won't be surprised if there is an extra suitcase full of my stuff.
After all my dramatics, I will admit it was fun to quickly peek through old ballet pictures, yearbooks and see that we all said ''ya" and "c-ya" way too much. My immediate problem was what to do with all this crap memorabilia until I had some real time to go through it. I mean I don't want an extra 3 tubs at my house ;).
For now, it is all in a brand spankin' new tub awaiting more boxes to arrive. Little big man enjoyed seeing the pictures of mom as a kid and in all her Nutcracker costumes which just proves this blast from the past crap is worth keeping. The problem is just figuring out how to organize everything. When I find the magic answer (besides a tub) I'll let you know!
Be inspired, get creative and have fun!
