September 9, 2016

Journal Decisions


Contents of half the “Attic.”

With George’s help, the contents of half the attic, that space behind the doors above the closet, was brought down.  What’s there?

The red pillows.  Pillows to change the living room from blue to red.
Quilts.  One and a half boxes of collectible quilts.  One box of stuffed animals most of which were made by G’s mother Ruby. 

There are also eight boxes of my journals.  Eight heavy, cumbersome containers filled with me.  Not just my words, or my drawings, or the ephemera of my life, but filled with the person I am today.  They are my memories, and my big ongoing project since 1974.  From drug induced madness through a lucky life to old age.  I have trouble thinking of putting them in the trash. 

Bobbie suggested that I throw them away.  I have thought of donating them and did send off one letter.  Now there they sit weighting down my thinking.  There are four more boxes in the garage, five smaller archival boxes in the living room, and one up here behind my computer. 

I have made one decision about them.  Enough.  No more day to day boxed ephemera starting now.  I’ll save the medical stuff for a year then out it goes.  I’ll save the pictures of each year to a disc of some sort.  Blog entries to a disc of some sort too.   It’s a fuss to save each entry with its picture, but I shall begin doing that now.  This is one decision that will lighten my life.

Christmas ornaments and wrapping paper wait for me in the other half of the attic.

13 comments:

  1. Both you and the attic will be lighter.

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  2. We try to be immortal. We think we will be forgotten. And perhaps we will over the years. Letting go of ephemera and preserving the nuggets of importance is something we all should do.

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  3. It's hard to throw out some memorabilia. I have printed some blogs in the past. Still thinking about publishing selected blog entries with Blurb.

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  4. That stuff in your attic? I have it in a storage unit. We have no attic and I would even hate the thought of going into an attic if we did. I too have boxes of journals, though only back to 1997. All the Christmas stuff is in the storage unit.

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  5. I have a one (1) notebook memoir, and that's enough. There is a lot of content online from my later life, starting about 10 1/2 years ago. I haven't bothered to save it anywhere, because I figure it is well enough diffused over cyberspace.
    I'm content to disappear.

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  6. ...writing has a place, but letting it go can be a good thing too. Good luck deciding what to do with it.

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  7. I shredded my journals once -- then began writing again and regretted shredding what I had written before. I no longer print them out and put them in binders. They're on here and that's enough, I think (hope). My kids have never shown any interest in my writing and my husband thinks I have a novel in me somewhere. I have to laugh -- when I write more than he thinks I should in reply to someone online, he questions why I write so much--I don't know, I tell him, I just DO--it's who I am. What do other writers do with their work/diaries/journals??

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    Replies
    1. I don't know. These have grown to so many that enough is enough. I'm not shredding these just hoping to give them away.

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  8. I would perhaps ask any children (sorry, don't know if you have any or not) if they have any interest in them. If they don't...and you don't at least once a year (or even once every 2 years) go up and peruse, ditch 'em. Just my opinion.

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  9. After she died, Jane Austin's sister Cassandra threw out all her correspondence. That was a real loss. No one will want mine after I am gone.

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  10. This is such a hard decision, isn't it? I have quite a few journals too. I don't know what the kids will do with them. I can't throw them out though. I really can't. I have scanned all our old photos though and labeled them, sort of.

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