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Thursday, August 4, 2011

I'm Not a Hoarder, I'm just Sentimental!

I'm really truly trying to get rid of stuff. But it's hard. I am working my way through my closet, determined to keep only what I actually wear. But it's hard. Take this shirt, for instance:I bought this during the summer of 2000, the first and, as it turned out, only year of my retirement. I took an 11,000 mile coast-to-coast road trip. Part of the time I was alone, and part of the time one or two of my three oldest grandsons, Tommy, Billy, and Danny (or as they are known today, Tom, Bill, and Dan) were with me. The shirt is a souvenir of the writing workshop I attended at the University of Iowa. During those intense five days, a classmate and I formed a friendship which survives to this day, although she's a much better writer than I.

Later in my travels, Billy and Danny joined me (that's who they were at that time) and we toured National Parks: Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and Glacier. At Glacier, we drove over the Going to the Sun Road and stayed at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton on the Canadian side.
Going to the Sun Road

In the days when Billy (with Medusa-like spikes) was taller than Danny
(My white Dodge Caravan at left)
The amazing old hotel sits on a wind-swept bluff overlooking Waterton Lake. The winds are so strong the hotel requires anchoring cables and still it sways and creaks. It was a perfect place for the boys to sail their model gliders. They climbed to the highest balcony and let them go, drawing the attention of lots of visitors who served as spotters and go-fers so they could clamber back up and do it all over again.

We spent one afternoon in the town of Waterton, I did laundry while the boys terrorized the town as they pedalled a four-wheeled surrey on two wheels around the corners of the village. While the laundry and the boys spun around, I shopped and bought this jacket which I've probably worn twice. I need to get rid of it. But it's hard.

2 comments:

  1. Taking the photos helps! Nothing like your memories to keep you warm and cozy. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wouldn't mind taking the jacket off your hands!!! =)

    ReplyDelete