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All you’ve got is what you’ve lived through
In preparation for moving house across Canada, I’ve spent most of the past two weekends packing up, sorting through the archaeology of my life, deciding what to store, what to keep close, and what to finally let go. And so, in a lot of ways, I feel like I’ve been spending time with my much younger self.
I’ve always been a “packrat”, or as I like to call it, a “conservator”. I’ve kept receipts, ticket stubs, negatives, business cards, and all those other little insignificant mementos of the places I’ve been, of the people I’ve known. Over time, some of them lose their significance. Others become all the more important to the little stories that make up my life.
Among other things, I discovered the following:
- A group 5 x 7 photo of all the vacationers at the Club Med in Phuket, c. 2000. Of particular interest are the raunchy South African couple in the front row, grabbing at each others’ privates. Classy.
- My Indigo Girls scrapbook, c. 1998 – 2001, detailing shows I’d forgotten, trips I’d taken (Atlanta, Oregon, Minnesota), and fellow fans I ran into just once and never again.
- A box of my first stash; crappy acrylic blends purchased at Zeller’s in Edmonton the summer I taught myself to knit.
- A tiny little notebook that I used when traveling, c. 2005. Most of the pages are blank, with the exception of several in a row, filled with sketches and attempts at cyrillic, with which I attempted to purchase train tickets out of Krasnoyarsk.
- A packet of letters and cards from my significant ex-girlfriend, c. 2001-2003, reminding me of the term “hunner-bunner”, long since disappeared from my vocabulary.
- Several laminated maps showing the Paris Metro, rail routes in Europe, and San Francisco, all c. 1999. I don’t know if they make these anymore. I think they were called Streetwise Maps, and they were fantastic for traveling. Of course, now I’d be much more likely to just use Google Maps on my blackberry, data roming charges notwithstanding.
- Photos of my old coworkers from eFinance, out at a dance place, drinking Tequila, c. 2001. And no, I haven’t had a Tequila shot since.
- Mementos from my cross-country roadtrip, with Chrystie, when I moved from the University of Illinois to Sunnyvale, c. 1999, including a AAA guidebook and a lot of photos.
How much of these small things do you carry with you through life? Enough to remember the good – and the bad? Or just a few select artifacts that bring a smile to your face?
I threw away a whole bunch of my past this weekend. All the photos and journals stayed, of course, but some of the old and less important objects; maps, cards, receipts… those could go.
Part of getting older is knowing that my memories have already changed, have already faded, and they’ll just continue to do so. But the stuff that’s really important, I’ve already documented. Here on the blog, in journals, in scrapbooks, and through letters and postcards.
I hope I still feel ok with it down the road. I always worry about regrets after going through a bit of a purge like this. But history has shown me that I never actually regret it after the fact. The stuff that matters isn’t stuff, anyway. It’s what I remember when I take a moment and close my eyes.
Are we there yet?
Some days I feel like I’m just walking down this endless path connecting where I was with where I want to be. Right now, I want to have my life just a little more together.
While it’s awesome that the store is in great hands, that we can make actual plans for living in the same [...]
Big Stash Sale in Calgary!
Sandra and I spent the weekend packing up and sorting through my considerable yarn stash.
If you’re in Calgary, don’t miss our Garage Sale, this Saturday from 9am – 3pm! Leave a comment for our address in NW Calgary!
A significant part of my stash is going to be on sale, including sweater quantities of Rowan, [...]
