Out With the Old

Recently, my sister and her family decided to move out of their house and into my parents' house.  My parents have a Cape Cod style house, so my sister, her husband, two babies, and two dogs are living in the upstairs - what was her and my old bedrooms.  Needless to say, in order for them to fit, the shrine to my younger years had to go.  

I was completely ok with this.  I mean, I've been on a decluttering kick at my own house for the last year and a half, so it makes sense that they'd get rid of the stuff that's been sitting in my old room for the last 10 years.  In fact, I was asked if there was anything I wanted out of the room.  Aside from my old flute, I figured I clearly didn't need anything that had been sitting there untouched for the last decade.  But aren't pictures different?

Since I'm living in a different state, I wasn't there to do the clearing out myself (not that I'd want to...).  So, I was relying on my mom and sister to do the job.  Old size 4 jeans, college text books, stuffed animals.....all the things I was thinking they'd toss.  Then, I got the news.

In high school, I had one real boyfriend.  Only one.  My sister went through boyfriends frequently, but not me.  Apparently, I had left a gift box in my old room with mementos from that relationship.  Little things, nothing major.  But there were pictures.  We're not talking a whole album here....probably a dozen or less.  In my mind they were proof that this one boyfriend had existed, and frankly, a part of my history.  And my sister threw them out!  She told me at Thanksgiving in a very "oh, by the way" sort of way, and finished up with "You didn't want them, did you?"

What am I supposed to say to that?  They're gone already, right?  Was I going to frame them and hang them in my family room?  No.  But when I'm 80, maybe I'd like to show my grandkids a picture or two of their granny with big hair and a boyfriend.  I'm just saying.  Now, I will only have my wedding pictures show.