These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Brad's newspaper

I've spent this afternoon doing some cleaning and downsizing. Not a lot of downsizing, I'm afraid because of the content, but I'm trying.

I pulled three banker's boxes of paper odds and ends from a closet. They are taking up a considerable bit of room, so I decided it was time. I've been toting them around since I left KC in 2006. Yes, time to release.

First box was easy-peasy. It was full of old check registers, bank statements, defunct insurance, etc. I did have to be cautious that I didn't throw out something that was in the wrong place or something such as that, but it didn't take a lot of thought.

The second box was a bit slower. It was full of various kinds of records, many of which I probably don't need to keep, but wonder if I should. For instance, a smattering of my grade school report cards, most all of my college records, records of my social work continuing education records, etc. I was able to ferret out much to dispose of, such as the CEUs. I'm no longer licensed and there is no reason to keep those. But I had to really think about the school records. Silly to keep them, but if my kids are like me, they might want to see them one day. I have a few of such things from my parents, and they are precious to me, knowing my dad was noted for his beautiful handwriting and seeing the photo of my mom in her tom-boy clothes, plaid shirt and jeans in the 1920s. I managed to throw out probably half of that box, then I decided to put the rest aside till later.

Then I started on the third box. And I really hit a ditch. It is full of letters from my parents and friends through the decades. Many of these people are gone now, and reading their letters is so precious. It also has handmade Mother's Day cards and birthday cards from my children. It's filled with all kinds of mementos that I just can't stand to part with. I'll need to either find a way to part with part of it or put them into scrapbooks. And I finally decided I just can't do any more with this particular project today. Too much emotion, memory and thinking. Gah.

It is down to 1 heaping box now. But I'm going to have to put a lid on it, so ..... Sigh. I'll figure it out eventually.

I found one really fun thing in the process. It was an old newspaper, circa about 1990, from Estes Park Times, with a huge headline, "LYN & GLENN ACCEPT BRAD JONES AS SON-IN-LAW".  There's a story behind it.

Brad is one of my favorite people. I hired him back in Kansas City when he was barely 21. He was a, well, uh, a character. He rarely got to work on time, but he was so good with the kids that I couldn't let him go. And he wasn't late for any bad reason like attitude or oversleeping. He just could never seem to make his world fit in the schema of the rest of us! He had more old funky cars that broke down. Several times he ran to work after a break down, a distant of 8-10 miles, as I recall. He was, still is, athletic, so it was possible for him, but he couldn't run as fast as he needed to to be on time.

Then one day my daughter came to see me at work. When they looked at each other, symphonies of glorious music burst out. Another observer stated, "I thought it was one of those commercials with two people running toward each other in slow motion through a field of daisies." Yeah, it was kind like that. 

But it didn't work out. Again, Brad could never be on time. My daughter is an organized person, on time with very rare exceptions. One time he called and said he was on his way, but his car broke down. An hour or more later, he putt-putted to the front of our house, car coughing and spewing. We ordered a pizza and Terri drive him home, as I recall, and the car sat in the street for a day or two. 

Another time they double dated with some friends and went by Brad's house for something. While they were there, Brad's ex showed up, raising all kinds of hell. Eventually Brad physically subdued her and got her out of the house. When he brought Terri home, he had to confess what had happened, because he knew I'd find out. After the "confession," he beamed at me and said, "But Lyn, you'd be proud of me! I used the proper restraint hold on her!" Yes, he'd been trained how to hold children to prevent them hurting themselves or others, and he had kept everyone safe with that! 

Well, that about as far as the budding romance went. Terri just could not deal with Brad's loosy-goosy way of life. But through the years, Brad has remained one of my favorite people. He makes me laugh, always. And he did grow up. Well sorta. But that's another story. 

It was a year or two later that Brad was on vacation and brought that newspaper headline back to me. Character! He also drew a cartoon about me having a car wreck as a get well card. He's a special person, and I suspect he will always be so for me.

Right now Brad is facing the imminent death of his twin brother, his best friend, the other half of himself. My heart breaks for him. At 44, this is too young for them both to be experiencing what they are. So finding the newspaper today was rather touching to me. It just reminded me of what a good friend Brad has been over the years, even though our contact has been intermittent. I'm glad he is back in my life via Facebook. 

So I'm finished with trying to thin out the "stuff" for today. As I said, I'm down to the tough stuff. But I'll keep Brad's newspaper.

10 comments:

  1. I went through "Those boxes" years ago and suppose I need to do it again soon. Lord I despise filing! I did find a card from my son Frank, It was for Valentines Day. It read something like this: Roses are red, violets are blue, even though I got bad grades, I still love you!
    I laughed so hard at that card. It sounded like it was my fault that he got the bad grades!!LOL!!
    Yeah Lyn, some things you just have to keep. Brad sounds like a great guy, I'm just sorry for what he is going through right now, that's really rough. Maybe you should give him a call and brighten his day! Love Di ♥

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  2. I would love to call, Di, but I don't have his number. I asked him to send it, but his hands are full, and I understand. Besides, we'd both probably cry, and I'm betting he is doing enough of this right now. We will talk eventually.

    Yes, going through those boxes "again." I've been through this last box many times, and each time it gets a little lighter, but I know it won't ever go away. Too many sweet memories. It will be the kids' problem ultimately!!

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  3. Going through memory boxes can lift one from a funk or bring more joy on a good day. Those things are keepers!

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    1. Nan, even if they bring melancholy for a bit, the after effect is certain sweet, warm memories. Oh, yes, keepers for sure. :)

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  4. Oh, the things you don't find and the memories that are stored in those old boxes. My husband always teases me, says I save everything. He is referring to my 'box' of cards. I have saved every card I have ever received since my first birthday. My mother started it for me, and I have continued. Love looking at them. That is one box I will NEVER throw out.... my kids can do that for me, when they put me in the home!!!!

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    1. MM, I do tend to be a bit of a "collector," too. I'm not bad, but there are certain things that just are too precious to not "collect." Your card collection must be really something!! Wow!

      Yeah, that is how I feel. The things I can't part with is THEIR problem!!

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  5. From dear LC:

    The efforts of you and a number of other blogging friends to downsize
    the lifetime collections of paper and memorabilia inspired me to
    start. Making decisions about tossing things that hold memories is
    hard, hard, hard! You have made great progress. And sharing your
    memories has brightened my day, given me another person to pray for
    and encouraged me to keep plugging on reducing all that I have
    squirreled away.

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    1. LC, I'm so glad you've joined the prayers for my friends. Every voice helps.

      And about cleaning-down .... hard, hard, hard is a great description!

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  6. I have been dealing with this same issue.. I have decided to throw many things out but have decided to scan many items into the computer and put them on disc's. This may be an option for you especially if you ever have to face another evacuation you can fit a multitude of those memories on a CD and would not have to make a hard decision to take or leave the box. The hand made items are just not the same scanned .. these items still have the loving touch of the giver and that is an important part of keeping the item especially if that person is no longer with us. However, there are so many items that if we have to make that difficult choice the image can still be retained on CD which takes up just a fraction of storage space that the original paper items took up. When it comes time which will be a very long time from now the disc's can also be copied and each child has his/her own copies of yours and possibly some of their own memories as well. Everyone wins. This year has not been a good one for me either. Please keep my parents in your prayers we have been on health scare roller coaster for nearly a year now.
    Love always,
    DJ

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  7. DJ, this was in my spam folder! I wasn't ignoring you!

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If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!