Mountain of Crap

A mountain of crap was what we had filling half of our garage at the start of this weekend.  Justin's mom and and step dad just sold thier house and are going to be splitting their time between a smaller house and a lake house so he had to take all of his childhood belongings that were left at their house.  And, of course, we don't have room for it.  But, somehow, it is mostely stored away and sorted.  Most of it is in the attic of our garage.  There were tubs of toys, clothes with sentimental value, souveniers from a high school exchange trip to Germany, glassware from years of college formals,I pictures, cds, his high school football jersey enclosed in a three foot tall glass case...you name it!  The bad part is that I have all of this crap as well, and if my parents ever make me take it we are going to have a problem.  It is just so frustrating...how to you fit things that don't fit into your new life?  We all know that I am not going to drink a martini from a martini glass embossed with a logo from the ATO Homecoming dance in 2002 which I attended with a friend but what do you do...just toss it in the garbage?  It is a pretty glass, and it brings back good memories...do I save it for when I might have a house with a bar in the basement that has lots of storage for attractive but useless glassware?  Ugh...

There was one tub which I enjoyed though...a tub of Justin's old books!  Look at that fabulouse stack of Golden Books! We had these at our house too...I think most average families did and still do! These were all from the late 70's and early 80's and cost either $.69 or $.89. Cheap thrills. Now it costs more to buy a candy bar.

I found my favorite!  It had Justin's sister's name in the "This book belongs to" space in the front, so, Michelle, if you want it back you know where to look!

I just love the illustrations in some of these books.  It would be cute to find an old copy and frame them in a series for the wall in a babies room.  I would do it but I already have the walls in Ben's room plastered with pictures of cute animals.  Also, you would probably have to get custom frames which would cost alot. 

Justin and I are almost exactly the same age and had very similar upbringings.  We both have educated parents and grandparents (I point this out because I know alot of people my grandparents' ages didn't finish high school and didn't even think about college and I know it doesn't have anything to do with their intelligence or anything like that...it just wasn't an option sometimes).  Without being over the top or overbearing about it, my parents always provided lots of reading material and educational crap like these math workbooks...we didn't have problems with school so it was never a forced issue.  It was just supposed to be fun. 

There were a few among Justin's books and I know we had the same ones.  His were sporadically filled out, just like mine probably were!  Math in the summer was just not a priority!

He some good "chapter" books which I also remember fondly... 

We clearly ordered from the same Scholastic book order...remember those?  In elementary school, there would be a book order placed pretty regularly.  I don't remember if it was every month, but it was often.  The teacher handed out a brochure with books and some other educational items like puzzles and games that were a bit cheaper than they would have been at a book store.  A week later, you brought back your order form and a check from your parents and a few weeks after that the order would arrive.  I always felt bad for the kids who didn't ever get to order anything.  Anyway, I recognize many of these items as books we also ordered from the book order.  Although...that Anne of Avonlea must have been Michelle's...I had the whole Anne series (there are 8 of them, I think, starting with the original Anne of Green Gables and ending with a book about Anne's children) and although I hate to classify books as being for boys or girls, Anne of Green Gables was definitely a series that appealed to girls!  Ramona and the Wayside School books were favorites of mine.  Boy, was that Wayside a wacky place!  Haha...

And then there were a few Newberry Medal books.  I haven't read either of these but that medal is almost a certainty that the book is a quality story for kids.  I think I might read them when I finish what I am reading now. 

Some of my favorite Newberry books include "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry, "Missing Mae" by Cynthia Rylant, "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" by someone  I can't remember right now and "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen.  These books really did expand my mind and I still remember specific details such as the way the family in "Number the Stars" painted shoes made of fish scales black with ink during the shortages of WWII and how the main character in "Roll of Thunder" spent a scary night during a time of racial tension laying in the dark, waiting for it to be morning.  I just looked at the list of all the winners and there are many that I haven't read!  It makes me want to go on a reading bender like I used to do during the summers when I was younger.  Ha!  I don't think Ben will be down with that idea..unless I am reading "Puppy Pals" or "Baby Colors" and pausing to let him gnaw on the books.