This weekend, we started packing. We won’t close on the house until July 24th and it will be at least a week after that (time to paint, clean the carpets, wash out cabinets, etc.) before the movers arrive to officially move us but we’ve started the process of clearing clutter and sending home special items that are irreplaceable with the in-laws until we are moved and settled.
One of the tasks I chose to tackle is my stash of photos, keepsakes, cards, etc. that I’ve kept for as long as I can remember. When it comes to cards, letters, and especially photos I’m an awful pack-rat. I went through all of the boxes trying to compact and organize as much as possible. And while I did decide that maybe it was a bit abnormal and unnecessary to save every card I’ve ever received – it took me forever to weed through and pare down my collection.
Reading through old cards, looking at old pictures, and trying to figure out what is worth keeping is a difficult task – especially when you’re hormonal and pregnant! I found myself remembering so many times in my life that I don’t think about often and feeling very thankful for so many of the special people in my life who have stood by me through thick and thin over the years.
I found myself with a soft spot for many items that I just couldn’t bare to part with — even though they will never mean anything to anyone but me. I found myself saving special cards from friends and family – including the mailing envelope from the first package that Mike ever sent me – wedding programs, notes attached to carnations from high school, and various other trinkets that I didn’t even remember I had. I hope to post a few old photos I found particularly entertaining on
Facebook later this week (if I can find time to scan them!) and I found some items that need to be shared with close friends. It’s amazing to me that I’ve been friends with many of my closest friends for at least 15 years. When did we get so old??
One of my favorite finds were these letters from Grandpa that I’ve included throughout this post (click to enlarge and try to decifer!) that he wrote to me when I was in college. It’s important to note that I was very rarely gone for more than three days at a time… but he wrote me silly letters anyway. Needless to say, the letters will be packed away. How can I throw away letters that are signed “G.P.”, “G.Pa” or the many cards I found signed “Gran Pa”.
Grandpa was always a good sport — he let me give him facials and paint his fingernails and toenails. He had blue toenails for months. One time I painted his fingernails in clear sparkles. I am sure he received some humorous reactions at the coffee shop the next morning.
Going through the boxes and boxes of items I’ve saved helped me to remember all of the good times I’ve shared with many important people throughout the years. I’m lucky to have so many wonderful people who have been in my life for so long and who will continue to be an important part of my life in the future. I’d try to list all of you — but I’m sure I’d leave someone out – but I think most of you know who you are… Thank you.
Wow! This is such a touching post! I am such a packrat for those things too; pictures, cards, letters, post cards. I kept all the ones from both my grandparents and I'm so glad now. Both of my grandfathers have gone to heaven and I miss them terribly.
~Michelle (ICLW)
Great, heartwarming post Jamie. I have trouble just getting rid of old sweaters, I can't imagine trying to get rid of anything more sentimental!
Aww!! Very awesome post!!!
Love reminiscing about my fun with my own grandpa! *iclw*
OK, totally crying now.
Those letters from Gpa are precious. How sweet of him to write them for you!
You totally need to share your old pageant speech about Grandpa. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it.
You just reminded me, we've been friends for 17 years. OMG – How is that even possible????? I just wish I had been a photo nut back then, so we had more pics from those days. Only ones in our minds, right? Maybe that's for the best….. hehe
OK, enough of my rambling…
Jenny
did you find anything "Violet"-like? haha, remember that time in your life. or what about Flamingo? hhuumm…good times! and i'm sure–there was lots of green ink and frog stuff! of course there were pictures of Freddy boy too!
I tend to save everything too. Just wait until Bo starts to bring home art projects! There is never enough room to keep all of Zach's paintings!
Made me cry….
Mom
Dez,
You should see the stuff I found from back in the day when we were with Lacy all the time!! Crazy!!
Do you remember when we dressed up like the Wizard of Oz for Halloween? We were pretty darn cute back then!!
Of course, there are tons of Violet, frog, etc. I think I destroyed a lot of the Flamingo stuff awhile back though!
Amazing that I consider both Brad and Jess friends now, isn't it? 
And yes, tons of pictures of Fred.
I need to do a post about him at some point.
Jam
Jenny,
Honestly, I'm glad we didn't get the camera out too often when we were J-4's.
hehe. We went through some pretty interesting styles — the perms, silk shirts, and vests. Ugh!! Not to mention my infamous cat glasses… 
I'll need to find the video of the speech as I don't remember it word for word anymore — pretty close though. Good idea for a post. I wish I knew how to convert the tape to YouTube or something. That one would have more meaning if it was actually me on stage saying it back then.
Jamie
Good friends… good memories. Love you both.
Jamie aka AL,
You should see the pics I found of us. And oh my goodness! You're a card freak! I think I have more cards stashed away from you than from anyone else. I guess since we've been friends away from each other for so long!
I'm thinking I'm going to have to find a way to scan and burn artwork. But, of course, some of it I'll have to keep the originals. Heaven help me if my house ever catches on fire!
*hugs*
)
Jam aka W. (doesn't really fit anymore does it??
Just wait till you get as old as me and Mom–and you save everything from your grandchildren.
Your frig becomes an art board again and they seem much more precious than your childs—if that is possible.
Thanks for sharing
i remember many lunches with Lacy at your house and the wizard of oz–so fun! we were WAY too old to be trick-or-treating, but everyone liked our costumes! i don't think i have any pics of that–when you get around to scanning/posting them, email me please! def good times…
I have the hardest time parting with cards and notes too.
WONDERFUL post. It makes me miss all my keepsakes. They were destroyed by water during one of my moves
How sweet! I wouldn't be able to throw those letters away either.
I too had to weed through the 24 years of cards, letters, pictures etc when we moved. What great letters to have! Thanks for sharing them! Also, congratulations on your twins! That's so exciting!
ICLW
I love those letters from your grandpa, how sweet! I enjoy looking through old photos and such. A nice walk down memory lane.
*HUGS*
I still can't bring myself to weed through all the momentos I've tucked away over the years. I just keep upgrading them into larger and larger boxes. Every so often I go through them and relive all the emotions. It is wonderful.
Thank you for sharing such wonderful letters from your grandfather. He sounds very special.
ICLW
I just found a big box of old letters, too, and have had a lot of fun going through them. They bring back so many memories.
Wendy
ICLW
I totally forgot about flamingo.
I soooo remember the silk shirts. My permed bangs with straight hair were the worst!!!
A Fred post would be wonderful. I'm sure that would bring on the tears too!
Jenny
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I have so many notes that were pinned to my suitcase and items that grandma felt the need to write my name on. It is good to be loved