Life Stories and Beyond

I know, I know! Purging is cleansing. I agree up to a point. Reminiscing is cleansing as well. Hubby Dan and I have lost all four of our parents. With neither of us having moved during our childhoods, our attic and storage areas held tons of cool and not so cool items.

His parents’ belongings courted with my parents’ belongings and perhaps even had baby belongings. Both sets of parents also had their own businesses, adding that to the personal accumulation that we’ve dealt with over the years. We’ve made great progress in eliminating, but it is a process.

Neither of us are take it to the dump and feel great about it people. We are all about reuse and donate and gift things that are useful or collectable. We are also sentimental and enjoy going through our childhood keepsakes. As such, we’re both thankful our parents didn’t give away all our childhood treasures. We now have grandchildren who play with our golden oldies and those of our four now adult children. They love it, and we love seeing the toys have a second and third chance to bring joy.

Here’s a news flash. Not everything that isn’t used daily needs to be eliminated. I’m sure you’ve all heard that popular saying about getting rid of anything that doesn’t bring you joy. Well, some things can bring joy by simply existing.

I’ve spent the past hour reliving memories of Barbie play, and thanks to their preservation, I can do more than remember. I sat and held those old dolls. I even dressed a few of them. I wondered what happened to the body that belonged to the lone Barbie head and why the legs won’t stay on another girl. I arranged the Barbies, Ken, Allen, and Skipper dolls in a standing order in the suitcase where they are stored just as I used to stand them up against our sofa.

I remember excitedly carrying that very suitcase to the houses of my friends Marcie and Sarah so our dolls could have a play date. I was so jealous of Marcie’s Midge that I “accidently” kept her at my house and even gave her a cute little haircut. I got into trouble for that one but it’s a fun memory. Today, I sent Marcie a photo of Midge and she says she likes the bob, so all is well. I was also jealous of Sarah’s bookcase her father turned into a Barbie mansion. Each square of the bookcase was a furnished room with rugs and accessories and all the things Barbie would need to have a fancy life. I tried to recreate that for my daughters decades later and it wasn’t as nice, but they didn’t know the difference. So, all was well there too.

My point is, don’t let anyone guilt you into getting rid of special, sentimental keepsakes. They are treasures. Yes, you could do without them, but you do you. If you are sixty-five like me and want to keep your Barbies and even spend a few hours playing with them, just do it. Let your inner child play, people. And for goodness sake, stop tossing everything out. At least donate. There’s someone out there who would love to play with your old toys. They might paint your Barbie Dream House black and use it for a Halloween decoration, but at least it’s not garbage. Now go find your Lincoln Logs or your Hot Wheels cars and set up that big old track and have a moment with your little self. It’s okay to play. It’s ok to reminisce and find joy in what other people might consider trash. Have fun with your treasures. You have my permission.