I have been throwing away furiously this week, determined to lighten the load on the foundation of our home and to save my heirs the trouble of this task when I’m dead. It has helped me prepare for the New Year in a cathartic way. I cleansed some of the recesses of my soul as I tossed junk from the attic.
I tossed the old VHS video recorder that hadn’t been touched for years. New technology has rendered it worthless. My telephone films a better quality picture. The battery was leaking acid.
I tossed the unused feeding bottle I bought 10 years ago when I determined my boys needed to experience the joys of raising calves. I was a day away from buying a Jersey when I realized that I would be helping with that chore twice a day. Veterinarian Jim Meeker reminded me of some of the not-so-joyous parts of calf ownership and scuttled my designs to build a small herd.
If I owned two of something in December, I now have one. If it didn’t work, couldn’t be fixed or never made me happy, I tossed it. Remember when the snake light was a popular Christmas present a decade ago? I had two.
I also uncovered some treasures long buried in the attic. I found Mary’s journals written at the birth of both her sons. It’s time they read them. I found old newspaper clippings from my days at Cullowhee and Salisbury and Winston-Salem and Madison. I found tiny outfits the boys wore when they were babies. The christening gown. I pored through countless …