Dreaded Box

I moved over 2 years ago, and I still have one box that I haven't unpacked... Yes, it's true!! So much for the organized me! Well... to be honest, it's a box of nic-nacs... And as my nic-nac shelf is already full, and I bequeathed my other nic-nac shelf to my sister, I'm kind of short on nic-nac space... But, this weekend, I'm thinking it's time to tackle the dreaded nic-nac box... I am now clear that I am not necessarily attached to the nic-nac itself, but to my story about the nic-nac. If I can let go of that story... then I'll be able to let go of the nic-nac... Pretty clear, yes??

Well, one story that I have to let go of is this... that my niece is going to want this nic-nac when she is an adult!! "I'll just keep this, because my niece might want it when she's older"... Uh-huh.... Picture this poor kid inheriting my nic-nacs, my sister's nic-nacs and my mothers's nic-nacs!!! UGH!!! What a horrible thing to do to a kid... young adult!!! My Dad has the right idea. He's been methodically going through his things and ditching the stuff that he's been hauling around for the last 20 years... It's time to let it go... He's a good role-model for me in that way...

How long do I want to continue to haul these things around with me?? How long do I want to keep believing that these things might be valuable some day? Or that my niece is going to want them someday? Or that if I throw away the thing, I'm throwing away the memory? Good question... I have a dog collar from our dog Toby, who passed on in 1981... Let's see, that's 30 years ago!!! Oh my God... Put it that way, and it's kind of crazy... But I know that we all do these things...

Somehow we think that in holding onto the things, we are holding onto our memories of the person or the event or the pet... Not really though... The memories live within us... It's time to let go of the things...