I am kind of a pack rat. I save everything. But a lot of it has meaning. I have been going through some old boxes of stuff that has been packed away at my brother’s house for the last 7 years. And it has been fun. There are lots of old letters that people wrote to me…some hilarious ones that Vanessa wrote. And I found some crazy old pictures. Though I didn’t find my prom picture which is what I was originally looking for.
I was trying to be good and get rid of a lot of junk. But it’s hard to do. I did pretty well, but there are some things that I probably should have gotten rid of that I ended up keeping.
My last semester of college (which I not so affectionately refer to as my “semester from hell”), I worked in a first grade classroom. That same semester my dad died. So, I found 20 letters from the little first graders. Most of them copied the words off the board, but some wrote their own notes. You can’t help but smile when reading the painstaking printing saying: “I’m sorry that your bab bieb.” That whole b and d mix up is great. 
Also, the drawings can only make you smile. Such as the one that looks like a man with really long armpit hair.
Needless to say, I kept those letters. Maybe in another 5 years I will be able to get rid of them. But not yet.
My name is Rhonda. I am blessed to live in a beautiful place out in the country with my wonderful husband. In addition to our "real" jobs (I work at a garden center and he is a teacher), we have a small farm where we raise vegetables, eggs and chickens to sell at local Farmer's Markets. We are currently fixing up/remodeling a house into which we will soon be moving...hopefully. In my free time, (what is that?) I enjoy traveling, cooking, crafty projects, reading and watching the sun set on the hills.
such a nice post Rhonda .. really lifted my spirits. I practically fell over when you mentioned the drawing with the guy’s armpit hair. I have long since lost almost every momento that was ever important to me, so you may as well keep all the stuff that you can, you will surely regret it if you dont.
Chuck from Columbus, oH
P.S. .. I always look forward to checking out your blog, and I think you are a wonderful inspiration.
That is hard Rhonda. Ive been doing that lately… but its rather freeing at the same time too.
nah…keep those forever.
some things are worth keeping.
Rhonda, if you get a chance, read “Clutters Last Stand”. My wife bought it not to long ago, and it is a great book on “dejunking”. Getting rid of the stuff that you have that doesn’t serve a purpose. Written with a bit of humor, it is a good read, and has some great advice.