Mike and I did a half-fledged purge last night. I won't say full-fledged because we didn't do the boys room, the laundry/storage room or the garage. But we did manage to go through our closet, dressers and the downstairs junk room. I can't believe how many empty boxes I hang on to. When I buy something, I initally save the box in case we need to return the item. Once the return date has passed, I still keep the box, all the while thinking, "When it comes time to wrap Christmas presents, this will come in handy!".
Going through our closet has been the toughest part (so far). I am a very sentimental person and I have a difficult time getting rid of things that have meaning or history. As we went through my half of the closet, there were a lot of shirts that I didn't want to add to the purge pile. Shirts that I hadn't worn in years, but they fell in to the category of "someday I'll fit it again and I'll wear it then". The truth is, if I get back down to a weight where I can wear it, I will want to buy new clothes, so I said a quick good-bye and tossed it on the pile. At one point, I even phoned my mom and asked her if I could donate the dress she made me for my aunt's wedding...ten years ago. I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Turns out, she didn't even remember the dress.
Our storage room is going to be a tough room to do as well. The boxes and containers in there hold decor that I bought for my first apartment. Granted, a lot of it is dollar store stuff, but to me, it's going to be tough because of what those frames and knick knacks symbolize. They symbolize my first true taste of freedom, leaving my parents' house and venturing out on to my own. They symbolize the beginning of mine and Mike's relationship because I got the apartment two weeks after we met. They symbolize my early twenties, the time in my life when I did my most growing up. How am I just supposed to throw that all away? Obviously, what I'm most afraid of is that if I throw these items away, I'll be throwing away the memories that go with them.
As I type this, Mike is downstairs painting the second coat in Colby's new room. We're finally finishing off our basement bedrooms. The other, smaller room will become our guest bedroom. When we first bought the house, I had visions of the guest room being a beautiful, relaxing little oasis where guests would be surrounded by a white, down comforter, lilac candles, rich, dark wood furniture and beautiful artwork. Not so much anymore. Our guest room is now going to be our "tacky room". It will be where we hang up pictures we just can't bear to throw out. I came across Mike's high school transcripts last night - that baby's going to be framed and proudly displayed (I've never seen so many marks in the high teens!). We'll display our holographic Jesus picture that we scored from Value Village. The portrait I had done on Charles' Bridge in Prague will be staring at the guests as they drift off to sleep (as it hangs over the bed). There's a poster size picture of Mike from the late seventies...his Farrah Fawcett hair will be the perfect addition. Then, there's my autographed Corb Lund posters that will only increase in value. The original Kerplunk that Brady bought me for Christmas a few years back will finally have a home on the shelves. Oh, yes, this room will be a wonderful mish-mash of all that is Mike and J. A mini-museum to us, if you will. I think I'm more excited to decorate this room than the nursery (almost, but not quite!).
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