an unexpected walk into the past

The area rug I bought in early March will be delivered tomorrow. 

ABC Carpet, where I bought the rug, was cutting it to the specific size I needed, and then, well....

So anyway, tomorrow I will get my rug. Laying it won't be easy as I have a very heavy, 10-foot wall unit that the rug needs to go under. So I get a reasonable request. "Can you empty the unit to make it easier for the guys to lift it?"

"Sure," I say.

And that simple request turns into an all-day project.

I begin with the books. I remove the read books that I will never read again.

I also remove the unread books that I will never read even once.

Then there are the outdated books that need to go (Excel for Dummies, Top Colleges, 2011 Edition, etc).

A big old camcorder.

Alexander's college notebooks that he wants to keep. I don't know why. Is he ever really going to say, "Where are my notes on that Finance 2250 course I took in college with Professor Clayton?" 

Then I find big notebooks filled with carefully arranged Pokemon cards. "Keep those. Some of the cards might be valuable," Alexander texts when I ask him if these are a keep or toss.

And lots of never-used school supplies (binders, reams of lined paper, dividers, etc). Doubt these are even used in today's world.

And what should I do with the 100's of CDs I still have (and haven't listened to in years). I don't even have a CD player anymore. Most are probably worthless. And am I going to research all of them to find one that might be worth $50? Probably not. 

I also have 100's of studio screeners. These I can't just toss. I put them in a big bag and will have to cut each one. A project for another day.

I have instruction manuals for media that I no longer have. 

And then I pull open a cabinet drawer that ends up taking me hours to empty, as they hold many treasures.

I find old "art books" from when Alexander was in first grade. Here's a self-portrait he did at age 7.

Rescue workers were a big theme throughout most of Alexander's very young years. 

These are "toilet-fixing people."

I get lost in my son's creative work at ages 6 and 7. He was better at art then, than I am now.

And then I come across a small box. Inside are old licenses going back to the 70's.

ID's from some of the companies I've worked for.  Love the hair "wings" in the Gillette photo from 1981.




And even a couple of student ID's when I was still officially Linda.



In the end, it takes me hours to clean out my wall unit, as I pause to remember so much of my past.

Putting everything back should be a lot faster.