More about stuff

I took apart Daughter Two’s desk the other day. She won’t need it when she’s only home for occasional holidays and it’s in good shape, so we’ll find someone else to use it. I can’t bear to throw it out. And we’ll gain about another 25 sqft in the process. Woo-hoo! The rec room moves one notch closer to its new identity.

After discussion with Two, I set about going through all the stuff in, on and around the desk. I approached the chore as drudgery. By the time I finished, I felt a bit closer to my daughter.

There were so many little nick-nacks and mementoes, it took me twice as long as I’d planned. I looked over each one before deciding where it went.  I recognized a few but mostly, I came to realize how little I really knew about what she chose to keep.

I couldn’t tell you why most of the items are special to Daughter Two. And I’m not going to ask her. These are her private special things and the fact that she ran out of cleaning time in the rush to leave for college makes them no less private.

So I put them in bins and boxes, separating old school stuff from keepsakes from awards from office supplies from obvious trash. I felt guilty that I’d never gotten around to fixing her rolling keyboard tray. But for the most part, I just wondered about the things passing through my hands.

And I thought about my own special things. I still have a number of them around here somewhere. I have  the “Little Grabber” folder clip and my Nixon button (I was young!) and my old notebooks and my horn made from a horn from Balloftwinetour and my Mardi Gras beads and an early letter from Mary.

I’d never seen most of Two’s stuff but I recognized every piece of it. These are the things that you collect over the years for reasons you might not even be able to articulate. This one is from a special friend, that one you made yourself and the one over there you just like, for no special reason.

It was an afternoon spent finding out how like me and how uniquely different my daughter is. It was a special time for me that I enjoyed immensely.

Next up – the bookcases.