WORTHLESS OLD STUFF

They say the longer you keep something, the harder it is to get rid of it. Here are a couple of broken-down old boxes that are truly a case in point. They belonged to my mother. We couldn't toss them when we cleaned out her house, so I took them. I couldn't part with them when Mike and I moved from Broadview, so they have kicked around out in the shed, gathering even more dust. Last Christmas I resolved that I would review their contents, then throw the whole works away. So, one January afternoon I tried to follow through but just couldn't do it. I tried again a couple of weeks ago to no avail.

"The boxes are shot," I said to myself, "so if you care about the contents, you have to at least find new boxes." It wouldn't be easy -- these boxes were particularly suited for their contents. The square one is the size of the old flat-fold wrapping paper box, though it says on it "Delray of Boston" and "A Rexall Product." You don't know about flat-fold wrapping paper, you say. Well, wrapping paper used to be mostly flat-fold, as I recall, and personally, I think there was something to be said for that – more variety, easier to handle, easier to store. But I digress. The larger, rectangular, box is decorated with flower carts and nosegays. It makes me think of a tablecloth box, but a tiny tag says, "Cosmo H&H, LILAC, #4-4PC." Perhaps it held a fancy set of sheets.

So, what's in these boxes anyway? You ask. The square one was Mother's Christmas tag and sticker box. I think she spent more time adding to it than taking from it. One card dates back to her high school years while the stickers are surely from the '40s and '50s. I'm sure Mother liked these things – sweet-faced Santas and angels with eyes twinkling mischievously. I like them! And as the years went by other tags, keepsakes, bits of this and that were added to the box until it's practically a timeline in itself. The larger box is even more precious to me, containing every advent calendar I ever had. Mother loved advent calendars. Yes -- most all of the contents are paper, most of it "mine," all of it saved by my mother.

I've told you how I love boxes and containers. If a store, such as Ross or JoAnn's, carries boxes, that's where you'll find me, wondering if I can sneak yet another box into the house to store photos, fabric, old dolls. If Mike notices, he says nothing. After all, his interests also involve lots of paraphernalia, some of it unsightly. I leave him alone.

So yesterday, I counted myself blessed to find at Ross two sturdy cardboard boxes in Christmas designs to replace the broken-down old ones. I was especially grateful to find the larger one which is adequate to the need. And today I made the switch. Trips down memory lane can be wearing, but I didn't linger long over the task.

And I have to tell you – I was so excited to find my window wax stencils. But that's a post for another day. KW