A meme has circulated on social media that says something like: You’re born with nothing, you spend your life chasing things, and you die with nothing. Make sure to fill your heart with good things.
Hubby and I have downsized some in recent years, and we haven’t missed anything we donated or sold or trashed…except for a box that had the gowns and blankets I brought our children home from the hospital in and some of their favorite toys. All I really wanted with them was to hold them in my hands once again to remind me of how small they once were. A picture of me with them would have been all I’d kept. My kids probably didn’t want them so in the long run, it was nothing more than a missed photo op.
We’ve digitized most of our slides, home videos, and even super 8 films. That got rid of a lot of boxes that were replaced with little thumb drives. Now they all live on a personal server our family has access to. We can look at them any time without setting up projectors, having the means to play them, and all that. It’s much easier watching them on a computer screen. We also shared them with siblings.
I have letters and special cards from special people that I’m reluctant to scan and toss. Their hands passed over that paper which makes them extremely special. I have letters from both of my grandmothers and other loved ones long gone. There’s also schoolwork and gifts from my children, awards, certificates, and clippings showing my life’s history. Those types of things mean nothing to others and will be thrown away when I’m gone. They take up one plastic bin and one cardboard box. That’s not too much to hang onto.
We have pictures on the wall that we will keep. When my mother-in-law passed, she had several very large and expensive pictures we didn’t know what to do with. They are still boxed and sitting around. Time will tell with those how we get rid of them. As for our hanging pictures, my kids have my permission to dump the photos and sell the frames when the time comes.
My aging Hubby and my aging self will continue to clean things out. It’s easier to let go of them now and focus on what we have instead. The digital age has made it much easier to keep a record of our lives to review when we like. Our lives have filled our hearts with good memories of family, friends, travels, and experiences, and that’s what we’ll take with us when we’re gone.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupts, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where niether moth nor rust corrupts, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where you treasure is, there will you heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21