The insurance company that dealt with our shipment from India threw away most of the moldy items. However, they saved 10 boxes of more personal items (mainly paperwork and pictures that were in our file cabinets) for us to go through. The smell was horrendous, and all we ended up keeping were the scrapbook pages I had made (that are now in new albums) and yearbooks (that are now in sealed plastic bags). We took pictures of a few random things we wanted to remember.
The birth announcement my mother painted and hung in my baby nursery.
The birth announcement Leonard's mother mailed out to extended family.
My Who's Who Among American High School Students book.
My key-chain collection.
My high school cap with honor cords and sash (I did keep the tassel though).
My high school diploma.
Leonard's and my university diplomas.
(Well I kept the diplomas, but their cute cases had to be pitched.)
Mementos from the first time I met Leonard (spider-sniffing) and from our first date (Buddy Ball). The poem says,
"Spider sniffing was the night we met,
A cold, dark night I'll never forget.
Although you probably don't remember my name,
That's alright--I'm still fair game!
Just want you to know I think you're great,
Thanks for being my Buddy Ball date."
We threw away HUNDREDS of letters we wrote to each other during the four years of our courtship (for two of those years, Leonard was in France on his mission). It was really sad. We may not have the time to write each other letters very often anymore, but the sentiment we have for one another is even stronger.
My bridal shower "hat" of gift bows.
Our license plate collection that I envisioned putting up in our garage someday. It kind of fizzled as we didn't have a car in England, we couldn't keep our diplomatic license plates in Taiwan, we didn't have a car in India, and we never had one from Leonard's native Alberta, but still.
A beautiful picture my friend painted for Ali as a baby. It matched her bedroom decor perfectly!
The roll up case I painted for my paint brushes back in my tole painting days.
Penelope Jane (PJ), that I made when I worked at the Scrapbook Patch. She reminds me of Ali. I had enough scrapbooking supplies to last my lifetime, but alas they are now at the city dump or being recycled.
I'm reminded of the scriptures Matthew 6:19-21:
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
My greatest treasures (my husband and children) survived the "India mold fiasco" and they are the treasures I want to take with me to heaven.
