In the past 2 weeks, I’ve run into 2 old acquaintances. Over 20 years ago, both of these women were integral parts of my life. But over time, we lost touch and we don’t even exchange Christmas cards any more. We’re not even Facebook friends. It raises the question for me, why did the Universe put these 2 women into my path at this point in time?
I’m not sure that this reconnect will result in anything, but it did bring back memories of when I worried about finding a decent date for Friday night (with T) or I was learning the skills of volleyball coaching (with B). Memories of when I was new to this town. Memories of when I first met my husband. Memories of the woman I was 20-30 years ago.
During our downsizing move, we’ve also uncovered many boxes that haven’t been opened in 16 years. Many boxes are full of fond memories, but quite a few are full of “I have no idea why I saved this” things – an old file on a traffic accident I don’t recall even having, a pair of roller blades I don’t recall buying much less using, and a box full of road maps from the 1990’s. There is also my first grade school class portrait, my high school diploma, and my last collage transcript. I found a series of reports from grade school and high school – at least it shows even then I loved to write but why would I keep them? Then there’s my husband’s sister’s favorite hat (she passed away 40 years ago, too young), a box full of his favorite children’s books (we have no kids), and boxes of shells from his trips to Florida as a kid. I wonder: Is there is a connection again to past memories that the Universe is trying to tell me/us?
I’ve been thinking that this downsizing, de-cluttering move is a real beginning to our retirement lifestyle. Perhaps these trips down memory lane were needed to put the past behind and focus on the future?
I have more de-cluttering to do, so I expect there to be even more memories. There are file boxes of papers – work related and family related. There are more photos than I can count – in albums, in boxes, still in the envelopes from the printer – remember them! There are also boxes of old craft projects I uncovered. Yes, we moved all of this but I’m committed to going though it all and complete the de-cluttering. Many folks have said that this purging of the old will result in a feeling of freedom when it’s done. I’m hoping so.
Old Acquaintances. Old Memories. New Beginnings?
On a side note for those who follow me: hubby has responded to my previous de-cluttering post with a really strong attempt at getting rid of things! We took over 150+ T-shirts to Goodwill, recycled 3 old computers, and donated old exercise equipment. I did pull 40 T-shirts to get quilts made for his memories – old sports related and one travel related. And I hope I am adequately expressing to him my gratitude at his attempts to de-clutter!
Picture Credit: Tim Doyle, Africa Safari, 2017
retirementtransition 
150+ t-shirts? oh dear! However, I love the idea of taking certain shirts and converting them to a very unique and personal quilt. I wish I had thought of doing that with all my old racing t-shirts. It would have made an amazing keepsake.
Kudos to your husband! That’s a huge step forward.
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Give yourself a break on the traffic accident, Pat. You were probably “expecting the worst, hoping for the best” in keeping the documents just in case. I came across similar “treasures” recently, and that was the only possible explanation I had. – Marty
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The fact I cannot recall it even happening is the scary bit! I remember hitting a deer around that time-frame, but not another car… or truck… or mini-van. Who knows! But the paperwork is now no longer around…with many other “treasures” that went directly into the trash.
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Yeah to your husband for his fantastic decluttering moves. Interesting that it was you who pulled out some of his discards to save as memories! 🙂 Great work to both of you on your rightsizing!
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I’m hoping it helps him with the decluttering. Recall, he has hoarder tendencies. I actually mentioned it as he was grumbling while putting the T-shirts into a go-away pile….it stopped his grumbling. :-).
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Kudos, Pat, to you and your husband for all of the great progress that you are making! I’m especially impressed that you are committed to finishing your decluttering work. It really will give you such a wonderful sense of freedom – and literally some additional breathing space- when you are done.
Like Lynn, I have scanned most of my photos and they are safely stored on my computer. As a bonus, they are much easier to access when I’m looking for something.
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I have to smile because all this is intention…I intend to finish the de clutter and intend to deal with the photos. I just went to a seminar about behavior and they basically said …intention does not correlate to action! So hopefully having my intentions written for the world to see might result in action!
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Hi Pat ~ I quite like the de-cluttering process for those very reasons! That walk down memory lane, combined with the “why in the world did I keep this” process. Really brings to the forefront those things you cherish. And I must tell you of my new find, although I don’t know if you are Apple or Android. Google has an app called PhotoScan (available in Google Play Store). You can scan your photos with your phone and it reproduces them perfectly to digital! Then saves them to the cloud for you. I’m in the process of scanning all of our old (pre-digital) photo albums so that I never lose those memories. Also, you don’t even need to lift the plastic covering if there is one. The app removes any glare and corrects the lighting. It’s awesome. Working on our wedding photos now! Have a great week ~ Lynn
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I’m seriously considering one of those “memory places” where they digitize all the photos. There are hundreds of photos, literally. In boxes. In photo albums. Like 10-12 boxes and over 20 albums. I’d be scanning for a year.
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