Last day of January and I’ve almost un-Christmased the house! I’m pooped from going up and down the step-stool to put the Christmas trees away. Stew guarded me and handed me the tree parts. My house has large cabinets above the closets in the bedrooms, too far up to really use, but I decided to put the smaller trees up there. I’ll probably forget where I put them when I need them next year. Got to remove a garland going up the stair bannisters and a garland over the dining room entrance and I’ll be through with Christmas. Yep, not thinking about the trees upstairs. Out of site, out of mind!

All my front porch plants weathering the winter in the lady den have fainted from lack of water. For the last two days I kept saying I’m going to water them and mist their leaves but I haven’t. I know they are talking about me when I leave the room. Going right now to get them some water. Well, was turning off the tv and saw Hondo was available so I can’t miss this John Wayne western movie. Poor plants! Finally put the movie on pause and gave the plants 2 gallons of water and a good misting. Hope they are perked up by tomorrow.

Spent several hours cleaning out a drawer in my bedroom. Haven’t really even looked in this drawer since I moved here permanently. I’d just stash photos in the drawer every time I got copies made. Finally just got to full to close correctly. Mama had saved all kind of stuff in the drawer, too. Family photos, graduation programs. Copies of talks she delivered at school and clubs. Family history notes, letters from daddy, Valentine’s stickers. Little Republican name pads from when she worked at the voting polls. I wonder were these saved for the memories or just put away in the drawer.

Found lots of family photos from when our families were young. Sent one of the photos to my niece on a text and she replied, “Burn it, please!” Don’t tell her but her daddy took the photo home with him today. He teared up remembering his daughters so young.

I wondered what makes people save things. My mother didn’t save our toys or our baby clothes. My oldest sister-in-law has all her children’s Fisher Price toys and the toys have all their pieces. I saved some of my children’s toys and all their Feltman Brothers baby dresses and smocked day gowns. Sadly the baby clothes were stolen when our Roanoke house was robbed years ago. My mother saved all the letters she and daddy wrote during her years at Wesleyan. We all wrote letters while in college. I have shoe boxes full of letters from my college years.

I was thinking about what I hide away. Letters, ticket stubs, little notes and cards, pictures my grandchildren have drawn, magazines, family Christmas cards. When I run across a little collection of things I’ve saved, all their happy memories flood my mind. In reality we don’t need these keepsakes but they’re a sentimental, tangible reminder of days gone by. We don’t want to let these treasures go because we’re afraid the memories will go. Life is full of smiles and tears. We dry our tears and our smiles fade but our memories last forever.