When we moved into this house, I was pregnant and had two toddlers. Eddie didn't take any time off work and, well, let's just say it's a wonder that anything even got unpacked at all. Unpacked boxes have been shifted from closet to attic to garage to closet. Cleaning out closets has (finally!) gotten me to start unpacking these remaining boxes. The other day I ran across this:
It was a gift from an ex's family (don't ask me how I remember that) and I used it to hold little treasures, things that were important to me. At one point, it held favorite pictures. Mementos from dates. Things of that nature. It was one of those things that, as soon as I unearthed it, I sueeee-ed a little. Because I knew it held treasures, things that would make me smile.
And I was . . . kind of disappointed.
There were four things in there. A couple of $2 bills. A plastic figurine of Mariano Rivera, still in packing with a clearance sticker on it.
This:
This is my honor cord from high school graduation. The damn thing is almost 14 years old and it totally did make me smile. I'm so glad I held onto it! And I'm really proud of the girl who earned it. Even though it didn't mean a damn thing when she got into college and realized the honor cord did not bring study skills along with it.
Original appearance of the honor code
{Our high school did not trust us enough to behave during graduation to actually give us our diplomas. Winning!}
And, finally, I found this:
This would be a rose made out of tissue paper given to me by this guy:
This guy whom . . . I happened to meet while docked in Cozumel on a cruise nearly ten years ago.
I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry that I've held onto it for almost a decade I mean, I kept the honor cord for fourteen but at least it wasn't just a "try to get into your pants" gift from a horny jeweler who was hitting on a tourist! In my defense though (*clears throat*) I had gone through a break up over the summer and that rose was a sign, in my mind anyway, that there were other fish in the sea.
Eddie had complained that my stuff was taking over "his side" of the dresser (totally not a real argument, FYI, since he has an entire MAN CAVE. And no, Eddie, the closet does not count as my "woman cave)" so I used this box to hold some of the junk that had previously been crowding our dresser. So now it doesn't hold mementos so much as it cleans things up a little bit.
But that rose is still in there! So are the $2 bills. Mariano and the honor cord have both been stored in closet and I'm still trying to understand why the kiddos' sunglasses collection is considered 'my' stuff when taking up residence on our dresser!