Packrat Puppet Shows

My Grandmother is full of all kinds of original sayings, some better (“Any move is a big move”) than others (“What the shit??!!”). The former could not be more right. I’ve spent the last two hours dealing with the laborious task of packing. It’s an interesting process because my life consists of two mutually incompatible theories:

1) Keep everything. Every card, letter, photo, book, key, candle, egg shell; everything has a story and should be cherished.
2) It’s absurd to keep anything. Cards, letters, photos, books, keys, candles, especially egg shells do nothing but clutter your drawers, life, and mental health.

As with so many other things in life, balance is the key. The trouble comes in the discerning of what to let go of and what to pack up in a box, only to unload it in yet another drawer. It’s a relatively new problem I suppose. After all, our ancestors a couple generations back didn’t really have to decide if they should throw away their Ace of Base CD case or if it was finally time to let go of a “Volleyball Players Score on Wood” t-shirt. It was more like deciding if old Aunt Bertha would be coming along or not.

There’s a certain comfort that comes from the choice of what to leave behind. Letting go of our superfluous material possessions can be cathartic. But what about emotions? Does leaving behind a photograph mean finally letting go of part of your life? I think that everyday we try to let go of things; resentment, memories, bad habits. If life is anything it’s a series of choices, and it’s interesting to look at it as a struggle to decide what’s worth holding on to and what must be let go.

Of course there are things that happen, things you see or words you hear, which cause the instant realization that no matter what, you won’t ever quite be the same person ever again.

While getting ready to relocate to the Reeve‘s for the rest of the summer, I recently found a favorite card, which says on the front:

When our story is told, and it will be told in song and fable and interpretive dance and puppet show, people will weep with joy and, through sobs, say, “Today we have witnessed love. How can our lives not bettered by this?”

On the inside it says:

Okay, the puppet show response may not be so strong. People may not be ready for puppets.

This card not only has a space in my heart, but will have a new space in a new drawer.