There were a few more small things I will put in a shadow box when I move. I kept just a few things…my mom’s favorite sweater and my dad’s table lamp. Their personal things I boxed up and donated…I tried not to think or feel…shirt, shirt, jacket…tape the box up and don’t think. I found it hard to part with a lot of these things bc it reminds me of our days out having fun. She knew I didn’t want them like some vulture taking her money, she did it bc *she* enjoyed it, it brought her pleasure to buy me nice things she couldn’t have at my age. We’d shop, do lunch, and she’d invariably buy me clothes. I related to this story bc my mom always bought me clothes. (I’m living there temporarily bc of certain circumstances). My brother left it to me to handle everything…I don’t know his reasons, but it has felt like leaving 5 year old in charge in an old scary house. I try to use new, less-sad words bc the process is extremely painful…and judging by what I d read and heard from people, I’m not alone in feeling this way. When my parents died, I had to do the work by myself, of ‘rehoming’ their things. I have never been a hoarder and hate to clean, so the less things to clean the better. This was a lovely post and made me giggle a bit-in acknowledgement of the sameness we all share across gender, color, age, etc…the keeping of things that hold meaning and connection. This post was weird but subscribe anyway. You're not the only one with old shirts tucked in the back of your drawer and a large doll collection stowed away in your closet. We've talked lots and lots about the practicalities of letting things go, but from a sentimental standpoint, all I want to say is that - I get you. I'm sure some of you are holding onto things that make little sense without knowing their context. I'm sure some of you have been encouraged to let these items go and I'm sure some of you have questioned holding on them yourselves. Could I remember the stories without the objects? Maybe, but I don't want to. Items like an index card, tattered piano music, really outdated clothing, or an out-of-place doll collection might cause an outside observer to scratch their head, but as far as I'm concerned each of them tells a story worth remembering (well, except maybe the body spray). Now I don't think I can make such a case. I have to be honest, my idea for this post was to poke fun at the useless and silly things I've held onto simply because they're connected to my loved ones. I'm sure when my mother picked out each of these dolls she was thinking of how pleasing they would be to a little girl, but I doubt she knew how many generations of little girls they would please. Some of the stories they knew and some I will share with them when they're old enough, just as my mother shared them with me. They examined their delicate details as I explained how each doll related to my childhood. These she bought during my Little Women phase.Īs I pulled each doll from its plastic bag, my daughters watched in anxious anticipation. I hadn't looked at them in years, a fact which filled me with shame as I remembered the sentimentality which led my mother to buy them in the first place I cannot part with the dolls, but I don't know what to do with them either. Growing up, every Christmas my mother would buy me a new Madame Alexander doll - this is how I became an unlikely doll collector. In fact, this is just one example of the many clothing items I'm holding onto in my giant claw foot dresser. Problem is, I have a complete inability to throw away clothes my mother bought for me. I've posted the outfit to give you an idea of what I might have looked like, hands on hips, standing next to that '99.Įven if I wanted to wear this outfit from the late 90's, I doubt very much if I could fit into it. In my day, senior pictures were taken at the local portrait studio and consisted of a few headshots and a couple pictures of you casually leaning on a giant '99 (or whatever year it was when you graduated).

My mother took me to the mall to buy this outfit for my senior picture in 1999.

Precious gems 21 piece doll set