Letting go

I'm not a hoarder ..a bit of a pack rat, maybe, but not too bad.  Like a lot of sentimental people, I save memories.  When you can see something and touch it, it has the power to take you back, like certain songs and certain smells.

In 1955, when I was 6 years old, I was asked to be the crown bearer in the annual May Day festival at the college.  Being a part of the May Queen's entourage, carrying her crown on a pink satin pillow, dressed in a long tulle gown like the big girls - oh, it was heaven! Every now and then, driving past Drexel Park, I remember that day and smile.

Somehow, that same long tulle gown, now 58 years old, has ended up in my art studio, along with a lot of other stuff that doesn't belong there.  Today's beautiful springlike weather had inspired me to paint, but I kept tripping over things, so I thought, "Enough of this!" and sternly began piling it all in the big green bin, for the trash pick-up in the morning.

May 1955

Feeling oh-so-virtuous, I rolled the overflowing can to the street, then went into the house.  After about 10 minutes of stewing and soul-searching, I crept back and retrieved the dress.  Our Caroline is almost 5 years old now.  I'll take it to the dry cleaners, and maybe soon we'll make some memories that half a century from now will make HER smile.

P.S.  I just  found this photo in a old scrapbook and decided to add it.