New Year/No Baggage

[Dramady]

Have you been carrying around excess baggage that you want to rid yourself of ? Maybe something from your past, a painful memory, anything. Can you share it with us?

I was able to let go of something this year and wow.. what a freeing experience! It doesn't phase me anymore.

[frenchy]

well , i probably wouldn't call it baggage but when my mom died i got 3 big boxes of stuff of hers that i need to go thru .. see what i need to keep and whats really just pieces of twine or somethin totally useless .. but i had 4 boxes and the first box really made me cry so i've avoided the other three .. but i think this year i'll do it ..i have them sittin in my spare bedroom and whenever i go in there , there they are .. just lookin at me .. so i turn off the light and close the door .. in life i've always pretty much been a self starter and did things in my own way .. but i got em done .. i started my own business from scratch which is somethin nobody in my family has ever done as far as i know .. and i've always been able to rise to the challenge .. but this is different .. plus i'm older now so i just don't have as much patience as i used to .. but this year for sure i'm gonna go thru them boxes.. but ya know the thing about it is this .. this is the remainder of everything that was her .. and once i go thru it all there is no more .. its like you ate the last piece of pie so now you can't have anymore .. so somehow i think if i don't open them boxes somehow there will still be somethin to look forward to.. its funny how a whole life can be summed up in 3 big boxes .   

[ellevan]

I have a small box of things in the attic that belonged to my mom, she died in 2002.  I open that box and I swear I can smell her, I just packed all of the little things that I wanted to keep in there and it's out of the way.  I am not sure I will ever toss that box but I have gone through it, there were lots and lots of tears and still sometimes are when I open the box.

[Karin M Fichtner]

My mom and dad died in 2000.....exactly 15 days apart. Shortly thereafter, I went through my divorce, and found myself "homeless" and staying with my daughter and her family. I had gone through some of their things right after their death, but moving out and having no place to store them anymore, I was forced to sell some of them in my ex's yard sale. It broke my heart to see someone walking away with Daddy's Stetson on his head. Years later, I came across my Dad's reading glasses in a case I had overlooked. It brought on a waterfall of tears. It was just as painful as it had been back then. It is cleansing to go through those things, though, French. Bring a big box of tissues; you'll shed some tears. That's good for you. Immerse yourself in the memories the contents of these boxes hold.....cry your tears.....and say good bye. You will, indeed, feel better.

[blithe spirit]

My Dad died about a year ago and I have been helping my Mom clear out some of his things...it's a hard thing for her to do. I have kept a few momentos that I know will probably tug at my hearstrings sometime in the future. I think for now I am trying to just be helpful to her.She's really had to make a lot of adjustments this last year.

 I have some relationship issues that for me, aren't resolved...but then when other people and circumstances are involved, it's not for me to resolve right now.

[AmerikinWmn]

We've moved 4 times in the last 20 years and it seems I have a full wall in the storage area of my basement full of "excess baggage". Some of it are boxes that I haven't really went through in years, other than to make sure I wanted to take them with us on the next move. One in particular is full of old photos. My Mom passed in 2002 and some of those old pictures are from happy times with the whole family. I have a hard time diving into those, so I just keep bringing them with me, hoping some day to be in the right mental place where I feel comfortable going through them. Who knows, maybe it will be this year.