Recently Scott and I started doing some Spring cleaning. We
are really trying to down size, maximize our space in our house, and get
organized. We no longer want to feel obligated to keep things because they were
given to us by friends or family members if those things aren’t “useful”. Which can be hard to do because I know I feel
guilty getting rid of things. I am NOT a hoarder but I tend to hang on to
things for sentimental reasons.
We came across some bins that we probably hadn’t opened up
since we moved into our house over 10 years ago. In those bins were old yearbooks from both
High School and College, old trophies, and a few old photo albums of mine that
were mostly pictures of school friends from High School and college, and memorabilia
from High School, and college, and sorority stuff.
I will tell you that I had no problem tossing this stuff. The
old Sorority paddle, it went in the trash. All the High School newspapers that
I wrote for, gone. I even tossed my Varsity Letters from High School. Now mind you, they were only from
Cheerleading, but they went in the trash.
Scott pulled them back
out and said “You can’t throw away your varsity letters. You earned
these”. I looked at him and said
“Cheerleading did not change my life and it’s not like I will be displaying
them on the wall. They can go.” He put
them back in the trash and reminded me that I’m throwing these letters away
which I earned but yet I was keeping a Beverly Hills 90210 book I’ve had since
High School…lol. Yes, I may have issues. But come on, 90210 was THE show back
in the day, right?
I would have probably got rid of my Yearbooks too but that
kind of seems like something we should keep out of obligation.
Anyway, the next day
when I walked into my dressing room, I looked at all the race medals I have
hanging on my wall and wondered will there come a day when I think these are
all just things? Will I look at them as things that no longer
have meaning? Will they be things that no longer have any sentimental value?
Will they be things that have not affected my life in any way?
Of course they mean
something NOW but will they mean something in 10 or 20 years from now? This I don’t know. However, I can say that unlike cheerleading,
the races I’ve done HAVE affected my life.
I know that I can accomplish hard things (like really hard things), I
have become more determined and dedicated to tasks, I’ve learned to love the
outdoors, I’ve got to experience some really cool places and events, I’ve got
to spend meaningful time with family, and have built friendships that will
hopefully last a lifetime.
Although I am not doing as many races as I use to, and I’m
sure I’ll even slow down more as I get older, I think I’d view these races and
medals as a part of my adult life and always look at them with a sense of pride
and happiness. I could never imagine tossing my marathon medal in the trash.
But if I do, I am glad to know that I will have Scott there to dig it out!
What are your thoughts? -M
What are your thoughts? -M