tales and gems from the attic...an unexpected memoir in the making

Mom: "I need you kids to come home for the weekend at the end of June because we are cleaning out the attic. We have way too much stuff up there and none of it is organized. You kids will need to decide what to keep, what to toss and what to give away - we don't mind storing anything for you but you must sort through it. We will work until we get it all done."

Me: "ummm, uh, hhhmmm, well I might be able to, um we'll see...okay, I will be there.

Brother: "when in doubt, toss it out...be prepared for many many trash bags."
Sister-in-Law: "some ground rules from a book I once read - plan on getting rid of 1/3 of what you have - if things are so important to you, then they should be on display or in use, not in a box collecting dust...if you touch it, do something with it..."

Dad: "I might agree to get rid of at least 1/3 of my stuff...then again, I might be lying."

This is how it all began...and I had no idea what I was in for...or perhaps I did, as my initial hesitation would suggest. What started out as a seemingly routine and daunting task quickly became so much more...suddenly dusty boxes full of God knows what, old letters to and from, tattered books and newspaper clippings, sights and smells of many years full of yesterdays and the many other morsels we one by one uncovered, meant something more...to me...memories that needed recalling, loves that longed for re-discovering, life that needed re-claiming, junk and clutter that needed reconciling...dealings...permanently and for real.

So herein reside the kindlings of my dealings...publicly and on display so that I might be reminded and held accountable to this process... just as were the heaps of trash in the sideyard, out of plain sight, waiting for the trips to the dump....just as were the bags upon bags of "giveaway" piled high in every available vehicle...just as were the bare, dusty, dirty yet solid floors of the attic in need of a good sweeping....just as were the clusters of creatively yet organized boxes, tubs, and trunks of "safe to return to the attic" stuff...just as are my memories, my experiences, my childhood, my past...so many lessons, so many insights, so many manys...tucked safely away.

Volume 1, Childhood
So Many Firsts, So Little Time
Threads: The Significance of a Stitch
My Life (so far) as a Bookworm, apples not included
Clement Jack of the Cabbage Patch
Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere
Whose Gonna Ride Your [My Little Ponies]
Strawberry Shortcake: a Doll and a Dessert
The Not-so-Yellow Yellow Brick Road (mile 1)
The Little Ballerina Who Could - I think I Can, I think I Can

Volume 2, Adolescence
The Shelf-Life of Barbie
Sequened Scrunchies and other accessories of life
The Redwood Sisters, Live and in Concert
Drama Club for Girls - I'm not only the President, I'm also a member
Rah, Rah, life is Blah: Principles of a Cheer-ocracy
The Not-so-Yellow Yellow Brick Road (mile 2)
Girls Behaving Badly - we wrote the book
I Have the Plaque(s) to Prove It

Volume 3, The College Years
The Art of Belonging: Which of these things is not like the others
Hello Person, are you there, its me Body
The Return to Real and other Adventures of a Used-to-be-Blonde
Life Upon the [ wicked ] stage
Coffee and Cigarettes: A Guide to Truck Stop Therapy
The Not-so-Yellow Yellow Brick Road (mile 3)
Into the Hairbrush: Greatest Hits
A Few Good Men Sacred
Femininity: Teatime, Faeries and Hearts of Space

...to be continued...

The coming days offer much opportunity for reflection and reflect I shall...in preparation for a mini-memoir...in pictures and in stories...for real...I'm doing it.