While I have been off exploring, and making do with the clothes, shoes, and things I could fit into one checked bag plus carry on, all my other belongings, cherished and not so cherished, have been safely stored at my parents house, the place where I grew up, the place I have called home for the last fifteen years.
My parents have moved. They no longer call that place home. They’ve moved into a smaller house, which meant a review of the objects I had safely stored away in my closet.
Did I really need to save all my board games? Couldn’t we just dissemble all my star wars legos, and put the pieces in the big lego bin for easier storage? How many childhood stuffed animals are really necessary? Couldn’t I do without all the knickknacks?
While I’ve always enjoyed considering myself not all that materialistic, it was easier knowing in the back of my head that my things were there and they were waiting for me to stop wandering.
The move made me wish I had chosen a more “normal” life path; that I had found a job and was where I was going to be for the foreseeable future; that I could unburden my parents of my things and take them on myself.
I would love to decorate my studio in Troyes with my Harry Potter posters. I would love to be able to have my board games on hand for when I have guests.
Alas, such is not my fate. Seeing how this time next year I’ll be who knows where for my internship, I’m going to have to keep on being nomadic.
So to all the things I gave away, I wish you well. And to my parents, thank you for finding the room to keep most of them. One day, things, we'll be together again.
March 22, 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My sister called me the other week to say they were going to give away my Baby Sitters Club books. I was like, noooooo, and she asked why I wanted to keep them "For my imaginary future children so they can read about how babysitters lived in the early 1990s . . ." Letting go of Goosebumps was easier.
ReplyDeleteThe longer you are gone, the easier it is to live without all the things you once "needed." I've started bringing back more and more photos, since for me it tells more of the story (and is lighter!) than a bunch of stuff.
I know! My parents wanted me to get rid of all my paperback books... I agreed to most of them but some have sentimental value! Plus what if I want to reread any of them one day? Luckily now I have a kindle so the whole "having-to-move-the-books" thing shouldn't be a problem any more... it's just all those books that I already have in book form that are a pain!
DeleteBringing back photographs is a great idea!
In the times I've had to chip away at my far-too-massive accumulation of stuff at my parents' house, I make a point to take photos of everything I elected to get rid of. That way I can stumble across the digital photo someday (how much physical space does that take - a fraction of a millimeter on a disk drive?) and have pretty much the same rush of nostalgia reaction that I expect I would have with the real object. Examples include Zoobooks and Beanie Baby valuation magazines. As much as I'd love to flip through those again someday, reflecting on the ridiculousness, a few select photos will get the trick done, and make you feel better in the meanwhile about those difficult goodbyes.
ReplyDeleteYeah that's an excellent idea ! Thank you :)
DeleteWhile I was home over the summer I tried to sort through my beaniebabies to decides which ones to keep and which ones to give away and they are just too cute! I couldn't do it, haha.
I hope they didn't get rid of my book! =P
ReplyDeleteOf course not! I would never let them :D
DeleteWell I like to think we kept the important things. The family fortune in Beaniebabies is secure. I count 4 large boxes. I have also moved our rock of obsidian. It is no safely placed on the ground here in Irvine. The dog and cats have even found the new fireplace. Meanwhile we have sorted through the boxes.
ReplyDeleteI miss my stuff too :(
ReplyDeleteoh my, I can certainly associate with this! All our wedding presents are currently residing in my parents attic, in boxes, never used. SIGH!
ReplyDeleteAww, that sounds tough. Impermanence is one of the things I both love and hate about living abroad. Constant changes can be fun, but they're also exhausting and difficult. I do love knowing that back home, all my stuff is right where I left it.
ReplyDelete