Trash and treasures

This week I've been sorting through 25 years of accumulation. It's overwhelming.

First off, where do I put all the things I've uncovered? My cup runneth over and there's no room for more.

I found old costume jewelry given to me by a deceased aunt. There's the antique pewter jewelry box brought from England by my daughter many years ago.

There are outdated clothes that one day may come back in fashion. Or at least that's what I told myself when I kept them. And the magazines. I sorted through about a hundred magazines that I intended to one day read. Now I know that I won't.

I found a lunch bucket brought back from Thailand by my military husband. The lunch bucket is in tiers, four small round metal containers stacked one above the other. It is most unusual and I've never seen one like it.

Then there is the rattan frog which holds wash clothes. I've taken a lot of ribbing because I bought the brown frog. I didn't know what to do with it so I stuffed its open mouth with colorful washclothes.

How can I part with the many gifts given to me by my daughter,son, son-in-law, sister, mother, mother-in-law and friends?

There's the handstitched cloth country rooster, a handmade afghan, crystal bowls, cups and saucers, decorative eggs, ceramic bowls, white seashells and coral from the Virgin Islands..

Then there are the boxes of black and white photographs.

There's one I took one year of Bill Clinton when he was Grand Marshall of the July 4th Piggott parade.. And another of Hillary Clinton when she was guest speaker at the Chamber of Commerce banquet in Piggott several years ago.

Those visits were on separate occasions when the celebrities visited Northeast Arkansas.

Searching through the trash and treasures, I found memorabilia of past weddings, concerts, travels.

There are tee shirts commemorating special events, like Relay for Life. There are dozens of cassettes of square dance instructions.

What does one do with dried flowers and a collection of baskets that have collected dust for lo these many years. And the brown pill box hat like First Lady Jackie Kennedy used to wear.

There are Christmas tins, outdated shoes, old eyeglasses and cases, and outdated calendars with notations of events past. There are nail clippers, a Brownie camera, old bank statements, and mismatched curtains. There are instruction manuals of products I no longer own.

There's the Gerber baby I ordered from the Gerber Company over 50 years ago. The rubber doll is faded with age and feels sticky from being subjected to humidity while in storage

There is the folded American flag presented to me at my husband's funeral. I cannot part with that. And his service medals and ribbons.

Someday someone will have to sort through my hoard of worldly goods. What will they trash and what will they keep?

Will my trash be someone else's treasure?

Isn't that the American way.