Who am I…?
Since I am thinking seriously about selling my house so that I can purchase my retirement home, I find myself thinking about the things that I have collected over the years.
It is the hardest thing to part with any of those things. Why? I asked myself. Is it because those things, the decorative plates, the dolls and the knickknacks the children gave me are all part of who I am?
I don’t like clutter, but my “things” I cannot part with. Each piece signifies something, a place I’ve been or a turning point in my life, so every time I pick up a piece, I can say I remember when……..even the things that bring back bad memories.
Good and bad they are all parts of who Iam.
My children are now grown with lives of their own and I am still mommy, so I have all the school pictures, report cards, candles and mugs from graduations and proms.
I am a grandmother, and have a few grandma things.
I am African-American from Jamaica, so I have my Jamaican things, my African things and a few American things, so getting rid of any of them is like getting rid of part of me.
Aren’t I the same person, a mother, grandmother, Jamaican, Afro-American with or without those thing?
The truth is, I want my home to reflect at least part of who I am, so by having on display all my knickknacks, pictures and whatknots there will be a little part of me on display too.
So I will keep my knickknacks, and take them where I go, they will be added to yet another turning point in my life.
