rag-and-bone mumsy

mum called me last week to remind me that i still had loads of junk lying around, waiting to be cleared out of the my parents’ soon-to-be-demolished place.

the en bloc frenzy last year had claimed good old nim park - the condominium where I spent my growing years and where i’d called home for about 20 years.

my parents moved into their new apartment (about 5 minutes drive from my haven @ arif) officially on 1st july and have packing and throwing away stuff for almost a month now.

honestly, i didn't realise how much rubbish i'd accumulated over the years! i'd already discarded several bags of trash when i got married and moved out into my own place, so it was quite of a shock when i finally went last saturday to clear out the rest of my things.

dad had already packed the old school trophies and medals which i'd won for my track-and-field events. but the rest were personal items which he felt i should rummage through myself.

i found boxes of stickers and coloured paper, old photographs, notebooks, autograph books from primary school, old letters and postcards from school friends and international pen-pals (those were the days when the email and facebook never existed and the only mode of communication was via snail mail). also unearthed: my school notes, report cards, textbooks, projects, essays...

there was even a box of letters from the ex which i'd secretly stashed away, for sentimental reasons. and i even found a letter from a dear friend, shirley, who died in 1993. it was very painful to read it, especially since it was in her own handwriting and her sudden passing was totally unexpected.

much as i want to keep some of the items, i know there's no space in my own home for all these prized possessions.

so...

i spent the next 3 hours or so ripping up papers/letters/notes to shreds. it's as if i was getting rid of evidence of my existence and physically destroying every single piece of memory (bitter and sweet).

but i knew it HAD to be done. after all, i'd lived without these items for more than 8 years, and i figured it was time to move on.

after 3 hours, i still had full drawers which i'd not looked through. it certainly was taking a much longer time than i'd originally anticipated. my MIL had to leave for a function, which meant i'd to go home to take care of the kids. so i had to return the next day (sunday) to finish up.

when i FINALLY gathered up what i wanted and threw out the rest, i decided to snap some mementos of my old room:

while at it, i also took some pictures of our living room, dining room and staircase...

when the hub came to pick me up, he was visibly upset that i'd salvaged bags and boxes of junk to be stored away in our home. well, it was a race against time to pack up - my parents wanted to clear out everything before the "official" last day, 22nd july 2008 - so i did what i could by chucking out the things i really didn't want anymore.

well, i'll have to spend more time to sieve through my stuff one last time. till then, my living room is crammed with bags and boxes.

and i'd better do it this weekend...before i incur the wrath of the hub and he throws EVERYTHING away!