Sentimental or Just Mental

November 3 - We're moving to a house on base in a month and after being in the same place for five years - I've never lived in any house in my entire life for that long - we've got plenty of purging to do.  I decided to start in the basement, which in our house is the default place to put anything that doesn't really have a home.  Our bedroom, especially under our bed, is home to many secret stashes of junk and seldom used stuff.  I pulled out all the boxes that were under there and got to work only to be sidetracked by a blanket.  Specifically, my baby blanket that I had forgotten I even had anymore.  It was made for me by my grandmother and when I was growing up it always lived on my bed.  Basically, I sat looking at it and crying for a good five minutes.



It's pretty sad looking these days as stains, small tears, and previous repairs have all taken their toll. Grandma had hand quilted around all the animals and flowers, but after so many years only a few of those stitches are left.  The batting has shifted around inside because there is nothing left to hold it in place.  It looks as if it must have fallen apart along the edges from time to time and then been sewn back together again because there are different types of machine stitching all along the edges.  Too, it's so old and has been washed so many times that the fabric is amazingly soft but also incredibly thin.



I am typically ruthless when it comes to purging and will very rarely keep anything that doesn't serve a clear and useful purpose.  I'm not sentimental and won't hang on to stuff just because someone special to me gave it to me or because it belonged to some obscure (or even not so obscure) family member.  Still, I couldn't bring myself to part with that stupid blanket that anyone else would probably see and have no problem getting rid of.  Instead I very carefully hand washed it, tried to unbunch as much of the batting as I could, hung it up to dry, and am considering re-doing all the stitching.  Maybe I'm getting sentimental in my old age.  

Comments

  1. deweygebNovember 5, 2013 at 11:49 PM

    I am so glad you decided to keep it. It is a treasure. I have a teddy bear from when I was little. He looks horrible and has lots of safety pins holding him together. I will not part with him. I told my family to please stick him in the bottom of my casket when I die.

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