Little Memories

I have been a cleaning machine for the past week or so. Nothing was safe..it was all going! I packed box after box of "stuff" to be carted off for a benefit auction. I cleaned out cabinets..I cleaned out closets..I cleaned off shelves! It amazes me how much "stuff" accumulates over a few years..well..maybe a bit more than a few years..try thirty years. THAT is a lot of stuff! My house was overflowing with this, that and the other thing. I was beginning to think my house was just too small..I needed more space..I needed a bigger house! Now that I am making progress on this war against unending clutter, I realize that this house is not as tiny as I imagined. It is really quite large! I have waged war and I am the victor! My brother used to say that my house would never blow away during a hurricane because it was too heavy from all the masses of objects that filled it. I cannot wait until he sees it now!

In the process of clearing out things, I did come across some items that were just too dear. I could not chunk a poem that my son scribbled on a piece of torn paper bag..the cookbook that my youngest made in grade school..or the ballet slippers that my daughter wore in her first recital. These are memories..memories that as I age, are becoming more and more dear to my heart. I am fast becoming the dottery old lady that putters around the house thinking of times past. Times when this old house was filled with children's laughter and the floor was cluttered with toys. The good, old days..ahh, yes..memories.

As I cleaned, I thought of these things. Then in a small box stuffed way in the back of a drawer, there were Mr. and Mrs. Egghead. Not to be confused with Mr. Potatohead..this couple was a creation of my daughter's when she was very young. When I would hear.."Mom, I'm bored!".."Mom, there is nothing to do!".."Mom, play with me!", I would invariably steer my kids to a craft project. Money was tight so most projects involved recycled materials. At the time, we had chickens so using eggshells as an art medium seemed like a good idea. Mr. and Mrs. Egghead soon appeared as ornaments for our Christmas tree. To make the ornaments, we poked holes in the (raw) egg and stirred the yolk before blowing the contents into a bowl. (This became scrambled eggs for lunch!) Then we rinsed the egg inside and out and let dry. After fully dry, a bit of glue was squirted in the hole and swirled around to fully coat the egg. At this point, I let my daughter have free rein in the the craft box. She cut, glued, and drew her way through this project with little help from me. For several years after that, these ornaments were placed on our tree. Then at some point they were stuck in a box and tucked away for years. Today, I found them and started to toss them in the discard box..but wait..how can I throw those out? Sorry, but Mr. and Mrs. Egghead were granted a reprieve. They shall remain as a happy little memory to be found occasionally when I am digging around in the chest of drawers..on second thought, they might actually be pulled out to enjoy Christmas. They can watch our festivities again from the branches of our tree! Yes, little memories..happy, little memories!