Chronicles of the Trash Heap

Returning to this blog after such an extended absence feels a bit like climbing into my bed after a long journey away. It's comfortable and familiar, but strange and surreal at the same time. It makes me feel like I've been tossing about in beds that weren't quite right. Returning to the familiarity of this space simply illuminates my sore and abused body, while reassuring me that all will be well in the mornings to come. 

I sit here in my basement amidst cartons containing bits of my life- past and present. My trusty old computer has been located; and as of Sunday it was connected to the Internet. Each day holds a small victory in accomplishment and today I began the task of clearing paperwork. While small in notable progress; getting rid of years of accumulated receipts, travel mementos, fliers, and other useless trash is a worthwhile task.

As I stood in my living room thumbing through the years of receipts and paperwork we collected in China, I was struck by an unexpected sadness. The hundreds, if not thousands of receipts that lay on the floor before me- became more than a useless grouping of papers that were blocking my progress toward organization. They became little bits of history that chronicled our lives through records of travel by taxi and subway; memorable meals by way of the grocery stores; cultural exchanges by way of local markets; and life lessons by way of local and international travels. These small, seemingly unimportant and faded little bits were no longer an excitement to toss away; but rather a reminder of what we had experienced over the last 5 years.

Suppressing the sudden urge to reclaim them from the trash heap, I let them go.