Posted on by Cathy

Stay or Go….

It’s probably the uncertainty and ‘what ifs’  of the past few weeks/months (or it could just be age related) that has had me  tidying up – going through things – making decisions – wondering  why we need it – occasionally wondering do we ‘really’ need it.

Like thinking about this memory of a long ago Mother’s Day from a son now in his 50s with children of his own who are old enough to have children of their own!  Something precious I chose to keep because it makes me smile – it’ll be there for him when I’ve gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or a reminder of a past career, working in a structured environment I was comfortable with.  A  ‘position’ in the company, knowing what I was doing and why it needed to be done.  I desperately missed that contact with the public, knowledgeable colleagues plus patients when The Golfer accepted a position interstate and I had to leave.  To begin with It was difficult to establish myself in a new city/state so at that time looking at this id tag reminded me I ‘was’ capable, I did know how to do things, even though it was proving difficult for me (at over 50) to reassure employers just that.

Perhaps I should toss it – there’s no need to remind myself of past achievements.  I definitely know who I am and where I’ve been!

Then there’s this certificate originally kept to remember that it wasn’t all gloom and doom, that I did have some fun in Adelaide.  Looking for something different to amuse myself I discovered Clogging – a mix of tap and line dancing which I was familiar with; also square dancing and Irish step.  Such fun!  Unfortunately when we returned to Melbourne there were no classes here in the east so it dropped out of my life.

There’s a whole box of these ‘memories’ in the middle bedroom, maybe another afternoon digging deep with a view to relinquishing is in order.  Lol that sounds good doesn’t it.  Better than going through looking for things to toss!

Whatever – It’ll keep my mind off the danger that lurks beyond the front door 😊

28 Replies to “Stay or Go….”

  1. It is hard to know what future generations will want when we go through our stuff. I am intrigued by things left me by my grandmother, most especially a lock of her baby hair, a lovely golden/red color. Since I only knew her with white hair, I loved getting it.

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    1. What a lovely gift you have as a reminder of the younger more vibrant child your grandma was

      Do you know Elizabeth I never thought to keep locks of my children’s hair…..yet I did from my first grandchild. Like your grandma’s it was a beautiful red, a colour she dislikes intensely now in her 20s. She colours it darker now and as it fades (between treatments) she gets very annoyed when people say, ‘oh here’s your lovely red hair coming back’

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  2. Yes I go through things once a month and it is hard to throw away memories but I’m really trying hard to let go of things because it will be more work for our only child to go through. I still have things of my Mom and Dad’s and for thoughts of someone taking their identity I should be shredding them. I don’t know if it made news there but we had a man who killed 22 people so far as the RCMP is still going through crime scenes that people burnt but he went on a killing spree. Don’t know if it is not being able to work during this panademic or not but we shall see.

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    1. Have you ever asked your son/daughter if there’s anything they would particularly like Germaine? That might solve your problem 😊
      Yes that tragic event was on our news. So sad for all involved.

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    1. 😊 I love my dancing Helen just don’t think I’d go to that extreme for an audience!
      The shoes weren’t shaped like clogs at all more like a tap shoe.

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  4. I really, really need to do a massive declutter. Rational or not, I get the feeling that if I did the house could breathe better.
    Instead I am spending way too much time on line, and time in the garden. One of which is valuable and will pay dividends later.

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  5. I suppose the question is will anyone be interested in them when you have gone? Another, after going through these things, will you ever do so again?

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    1. You never know Andrew, they might spark a little bit of interest (didn’t remember Mum looking that young😊).
      As far as looking again, maybe not intentionally but possibly in passing if I’m looking for something else in the box

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  6. As some one who is very sentimental and who also has 7 children, you can imagine how much memorabilia I have stashed away! I know I need to shed some of it because in reality only a couple of my kids will be happy to see their cards and drawings etc when I go but I just cannot bring myself to even go through it! Those busy days are something I look back on with nostalgia and I do get a bit teary just thinking about them 🙂 Oh well at least between all the kids they can share the load of clearing out my stuff!!!

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    1. Evi as each of our children settled down in their own homes I passed those memories on to them. They then became custodians of their previous life. I did keep a few – They weren’t going to get away that easily 😊

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  7. Your son’s card reminds me of a little letter I have which my son wrote to the Tooth Fairy, he lost his tooth at another child’s house and was worried the Tooth Fairy wouldn’t find it and “it was a good one”. These little things are real treasures.

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    1. I’m hoping the Tooth Fairy looked on him favourably when he got home 😊
      The Golfer has some letters he wrote to his mum and dad when he was in hospital. After his mum died his sister found them tucked away in a little box with other treasures.

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      1. The Tooth Fairy had no trouble finding the tooth and since it was a good one he was well rewarded. I think letters will be even more appreciated in future when all the emails etc have disappeared into cyberspace.

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  8. I can so endorse what you are doing right now. I have kept memories from my children but work related stuff is going, ot quite sure just how many mother’s day cards I have but there are a lot! Memories right now remind us of the happy days. xxPS My SIL does clogging aged 70!

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    1. Cathy I did give a lot of those memories back to each child when they became settled in their first ‘adult’ homes. Selfishly? I kept some for me – just as a special reminder.
      You’re right about needing good stuff around us at the moment. Some of the things I binned were from that unhappy time and I feel much better for it.

      Haven’t made up my mind about the ID tag yet (vanity says it’s a reasonable photo making me look much younger than I was 😊)

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  9. How I enjoyed learning all this about you and seeing the photos! You lovely thing.
    So much stuff to “go through” … all these material treasures sometimes seem like a burden (who will care for the family heirlooms and photo albums after i’m gone?) and I also have journals that needn’t be gone through except by me — I’ve been curating, keeping some, tossing most, planning to organize it into something between covers one day instead of half a dozen boxes of inked notepaper and cardboard covers! These may be perfect times for doing some of that, but I haven’t … I see you ARE … hope to see more of what you’re finding. -Kate

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    1. So far I’ve only attempted to ‘tame’ one box Kate….it’ll take me a month of Sunday’s to tackle everything. And as you mentioned there are the photos, so much nicer holding them in your hand than looking at a screen but oh, the space they take up.
      That’s it…..I’m going to have to live ’til I’m 100 to get it all done😊

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  10. Nah, keep all of those memories. It’s fun for you sometimes to find and remember and your children might chuck them later but they’ll look at them too and think of you…….and wonder if they really did know you. Clogging? Way to go

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    1. Hello Michelle, lovely to hear from you..I thought you’d given up blogging……I’ll see what I can find for Nature Notes. It’s on Monday’s isn’t it?

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  13. No! No! No, Cathy! Don’t get rid of any of your mementos…your memorabilia. They are wonderful reminders of Life’s path…and the path you’ve had trod, along with your loved ones. I believe you are very lucky to have the memorabilia…and the loved ones…as they are to have you. 🙂

    Take good care…my best wishes.

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    1. Thank you Lee…yes as you say, they are a timeline of my life. Just wish I wasn’t so sentimental…..just don’t want to be looked on as being a hoarder

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