I don’t know if it’s just me or does everyone have a memory bank that is triggered by mementoes? As soon as I see or touch an item I am immediately brought back to the who, what, where and when I obtained the item. It doesn’t matter if it’s a scrap of paper or a piece of large furniture. I am finding it harder and harder to let go of these things.
It’s as if I fear losing the item will make me forget the occasion. Does that make me a hoarder or a romantic?
I was cleaning out closets and drawers the other day and I found that I have accumulated a huge number of scarves and hankies. I decided to thin them out and part with a few. There were two square bandanas, one red and one blue. These were keepers! My dad never goes anywhere without a bandana in his pocket. They come in handy for runny noses, cuts, scrapes and the occasional bloody nose. Dad always lied and said the red was from the hanky not blood so we wouldn’t panic.
The next scarves were some oversized square silk floral hankies…just like those my mom wore in the ‘70s. Easy to fold in half and tie under your hair for a fashionable summer look. (A look I might bring back at Marketplace one day this July.) There is no way I could part with these.
I have two little white lace pocket hankies that belonged to my grandma. I think she kept them in her purse in case she had to wipe a messy face or dry a few tears. The memories these bring are bigger than the space they take up in the drawer anyway. I’ll just tuck them in the corner.
Scarves were another pile. I have scarves from friends, scarves I wore on a vacation in Europe, scarves given to me in Africa, scarves knitted by my mom, scarves woven on a loom, scarves hand dyed with plants and leaves I found in the woods, scarves as soft as kittens and some made of scratchy wool…. in the end I could not part with one.
Don’t even get me started on wraps and pashminas! At least my head and neck will be warm as I am wrapped in the memories of my loved ones and friends. I guess that makes me both a hoarder and a romantic!
Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
Kevin Arnold
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
Leave a Reply