Fine. I’m a freaking hoarder. But I’m an ORGANIZED HOARDER, and I want my due for that.
I have saved correspondence all my life. At some point when we lived at The Compound, I actually purged a lot of it. Including the mail sent to me by Julie F who I met at Bible camp when we were twelve.
Then last year, what did I need? Oh, the thoughts and activities of girls in the South approximately twelve years old during somewhat the same time period. And I had thrown away an authentic voice from that time. From now on, we’ll call correspondence hoarding “research.”
After the flood in 2017, Lynne and Tom and sometimes Debby sat on the carport with me while I went through bins of cards and letters, and Lynne made me start purging. However, she wasn’t completely brutal. She said, “You can save one or two Christmas and birthday cards from a person, but not ALL OF THEM. And stop saving stuff from people you knew from a job or place who mean NOTHING TO YOU.” (The ones who meant something to me were okay to keep. And I did.)
Anyway, I got it down to two and a half bins, and today I’m going through the 1/2 and organizing it (because the first and second bins have things divided by people or families or sets of friends) and blending it into Bin 2.
One has long been done.
Two is in process.
I’m not reading these. I know I’ll start crying. There are some people who aren’t on earth anymore. But the biggest surprises were photos I didn’t know I had; an entire set of letters from Riley I didn’t know were never put with his other letters; and who knows how, but a card from my father from some year before 1985, which is when he died. Don’t get me wrong. I have other mail from my father, but it’s in an envelope in Bin One. No idea how this one came wandering in after the fact.
I realize all this stuff will be thrown into a dumpster when I die. But when it’s not 2020 and I’m emotionally stable, I’m going to have fun looking through these bins and actually reading a few letters, cards, and postcards from so many funny, quirky, kind, loving, and yes, even disappointing, people who’ve been in my life.
If you ever wondered if I value your words to me–let this be your answer. (Except you, Julie F. Sorry. I do still have my photos of you.)
I think what you have kept is reasonable. I keep birthday and Christmas cards from special people, like my parents, but the rest have gone. I have all of my mother’s 21st birthday cards, which I found in a tin. Like yours, they will all go in a skip when I die, but I won’t be around to know or care then.
An aside, but can you e-mail me your current PO Box address? I just want to ensure I use the right one. Ta!
Thank you for your support of my hoarding habit. I will say that it doesn’t get in anyone’s way–it’s always tucked away, and nothing weird is growing under or on it. =)
Yes, I’ll email the address. Let’s hope my this year’s card makes it to you!