Little Treasures
My studio is finished – hurrah! I finally have a separate workspace, where I can concentrate on work. I will no longer have to fight the temptation to deal with the pile of dishes that have accumulated in the kitchen, or the floor that needs vaccuuming (always), or the clothes that need to be put away. YAY!!!
This also means that it’s time to sort through the piles of… stuff… that has been gathering in my house for months, awaiting a proper home.
It’s amazing how this “stuff” accumulates. It seems that every now and then, I have found a home for it by shoving it in a pretty box. There are now lots of pretty boxes, some of which I want to reclaim. So, as we go through it all, box by box, we’re discovering a lot of junk and – every so often – little treasures.
I have a special box in storage for my little treasures. It contains some of my best exercise books from school, swimming certificates, dancing medals, the remains of a dolly rocking chair brought from far away by “the aunts”. It is also home to my first drivers’ licence and several uni student cards, which will provide hours of amusement to my grandkids one day.
Today I found another item for that treasure box, as I was sorting through hubby’s discards, in an attempt to separate recycling from rubbish. It was THE LIST – a long, long TO DO list of all the things I wanted to do with the munchkin before he started school.
At the time I wrote it, I was working full time. I was stressed, underperforming in my job, about to turn a big, nasty zero-type number. Weekends were full of endless household chores – washing, shopping, cleaning, gardening. I could not imagine EVER having the time to do those special things – bake muffins, kick autumn leaves, watch the ships being loaded at the port, etc. I would look at that list and cry to the absolute depths of my soul.
While that list was a very long TO DO list, what it actually represented was a far simpler list – a TO BE list – and what I wanted TO BE was a REAL mum, not the failed version of a supermum that I was rapidly becoming.
To others (including hubby, I’m sad to say), it’s just a list.
To me, it’s the most important list I ever wrote. Writing that list changed my whole life. It proved to me the power of writing down your dreams, hopes, heartfelt wishes. That list gave me the courage to ask for a reduction in work hours. That list brought about the once-in-a-lifetime chance to create a new life as a WAHM.
In less than 2 years, the munchkin and I have ticked off everything on that list and more besides… It is the experience of sharing those special times with the munchkin that is the real treasure. I’m so glad I sorted through that pile of papers and rescued it. For that little sheet of paper will hold the key to unlocking those wonderful memories in years to come.
It’s time for THE LIST to take its place with all the other special items in my treasure box, don’t you think?
I wonder what other little treasures we’ll discover in this clean up.
What are your little treasures? How do you keep them for future?
4
Jo says:
August 8, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Very gorgeous story!
I recently sifted through a box of treasure including teenage letters, childhood trinkets, miniature tea sets, old tapes etc…my 8yr old was beside himself with all the goodies. I am about to pass on a wooden dolls cradle my mum made for me to my own baby girl. I think I have been a hoarder forever. No shortage of treasure (and trash) here! I even received my wish of a travellers vintage treasure chest for my 16th birthday (now the dress-up box).
Yay for your new studio space!
Cath says:
August 8, 2011 at 11:59 pm
Jo, that does sound like such fabulous treasure! I’m trying so hard NOT to be a hoarder, but it’s hard when you know there are so many precious memories attached. (As an aside, my vintage treasure chest which I received for my 21st is a blanket box – I like your idea of making it a dress-up box!)
MelGardener says:
August 9, 2011 at 6:28 pm
Yep, putting up my hand and admitting to “hoarder” status. I *love* the idea of a “to be” list rather than a “to do” list. I am forever writing “to do” lists and wondering why I don’t get through them. Maybe my approach is wrong. My “to be” list is going to be headed with “the sort of person who doesn’t need to do lists”.
Cath says:
August 9, 2011 at 11:06 pm
Mel, here is where I first discovered the concept of the “To Be” list… http://www.sevencherubs.com/2011/05/motherhood-to-do-list-and-to-be-list.html although Google threw up Oprah at me, so I’m guessing the concept has been around for a while! I think To Do lists are OK. I’d never get through a working week without them. Where they fall apart is when completing those tasks takes over from the real stuff of BE-ing. Perhaps we need to create one of each, every week, so that we remember to fit all that really important stuff in.