Written by Today, my dining room exploded…
Hey, I warned you didn’t I? No one said this photo organization business was going to be a clean, streamlined adventure. Quite the contrary. With so many boxes and bins (and even boxes inside of bins) full of photos and cards and letters and programs and ticket stubs and about a dozen other categories of miscellaneous stuff collected over the years, it was bound to get worse before it got better. But, boy oh boy did I find some fun stuff today. Here are just a few of my favorites…
I found my Mom’s first Valentine card…
A bunch of leftover Thank You’s and RSVP cards from our wedding. You can’t go wrong with lampshades…
An old Kit Kat wrapper that I saved from my study tour to Turkiye in 2000. Because nothing says great souvenir like an American candy bar with Turkish writing on it…
A photo of my crazy husband from our college days, which reminded me of just how I fell in love with him in the first place…
And some of the notes I wrote him when we were dating, that apparently he saved…
Photos of me and Lindy growing up, celebrating our birthdays at Grandma and Grandpa Luethje’s cabin at Johnson Lake (and yeah, I am rockin’ that headband and legwarmers). And, of course, the first of many awkward “First Day of School” photos…
Photos from my elementary school years, carrying flowers for the Queen of Courts Ceremony (think Homecoming King and Queen, but during basketball season). And a photo from my one (and only) dance recital. I wonder if my waning interest in dance had anything do to with the outfit or the amount of makeup I had to wear…
Photos of Steven and I both apparently going through a denim phase (and my sweet dog Angel aka “Stinky”)…
Followed shortly by the purple hair phase…
I smiled when I saw photos of some of my dearest college friends–Above: my purple-haired compadre Anette and favorite Roomie ever Miss Katie. Below: the one and only Aaron, who managed to get himself kicked out of the men’s volleyball game shortly after this photo was taken for yelling a little too overzealously into a 4-foot tall traffic cone. “Aw Ref! C’mon Ref! That call was hoooorible! YOU’RE HOOOOOORIBLE!!!”
Then, there were photos of my favorite cat, the sweet Baby Gray (Look away from the perm. Look away!)…
My favorite car, the Peacock…
And a random moment captured on International Cheese Day in Mr. Uribe’s freshman Geography class…
There were stacks of old family photos…
And lots of new family photos…
I even found a box full of playbills and ticket stubs from all the shows I saw while living in New York…
But as much as I loved the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions I saw over the years, my favorite shows were always those when I got to watch my favorite Roomie strut her stuff and sing. I heard she she sang the National Anthem at a women’s basketball game in Ohio tonight, and I wish I could have been there to hear it. Girl’s got a voice that I could never get tired listening to, and just opening this old program and seeing her name, I can close my eyes and almost hear it. 🙂
So, in spite of the mess, and in spite of the boxes and piles that are still littering my dining room, today’s decluttering was definitely a success. I already have four photo boxes sorted and filled, and have a pile of miscellaneous items (like the old wedding RSVP’s and Turkish Kit Kat wrapper) headed for the garbage bin.
I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Lori Romano 
Did you notice that Scherzo is sitting on my left in that photo? I can see her paws and a little bit of her body. Ahh, the memories. My question is: what was I thinking with the overalls??
I did notice! Wasn’t Scherzo always sitting on your left in those days? 🙂 And I always thought you looked adorable in overalls! Love you and miss you my Roomie!!!