Optimistic Hoarder: Box 006
Box: 006
Provenance: Lahaina, HI
Description: Large Purple Luggage
Contents:
Postcard from me regarding the FitBit™ I sent her
Tena Pads (new)
Child’s XL matching sweatshirt & pant in camo print and the text “Maui Built Hawaii: The United States of Aloha”
Pink spray bottle (empty, thankfully)
Bamboo back scratcher
Tripod
Large Hydroflask™
Backpack
Checkbook
Photographs of a friend
Photograph: my senior high school portrait
Sports Illustrated 2017 NBA Champions Golden State Warriors Commemorative Issue
Holiday cards (received)
Gift card tin (empty)
Almost-full sheet of Disney™ Villain Forever Stamps™
Secret™ Relaxing Lavender deodorant
Hairbrush
Hair clip
Eight bottles of nail polish:
Wrapped in Rubies
The Girls Are Out
A Fresh Evergreen
Crawford’s Wine
Go Crazy Red
Greener
Dena
Shillelagh
Tiny Tupperware™ with a neon green lid containing neon green earplugs
Disposable shaving razor
Nikon™ letter opener (yes, the camera company)
Halls™ cough drops
Tweezers
Lancets (unused, thankfully)
Classic, butter yellow Post-It™ Notes
Brush for cleaning grout
Travel toothbrush holder
Enrichual™ Hemp Relief Balm
Ruminations:
If I haven’t mentioned it already, my mother was a deeply sentimental person. For better or for worse, it’s a trait that I have inherited as well. I was not surprised to find my senior high school portrait, a portrait that was taken almost thirty years ago. I was also unsurprised to find old holiday cards from family members and even a postcard I had included with a FitBit I gave her, which she asked for, and which I am expecting to find untouched in a future box.
The checkbook made me smile, rather, the checkbook cover. This is because we have the exact same one. She was visiting me when I was living in Pasadena and we went to Knott’s Berry Farm, not to go to the park, but to go to Mrs. Knott’s Fried Chicken restaurant. Outside the front gates of the park, there were a few shops including one that had a bit of everything, including university-branded checkbook covers. My mother never went to a four-year university but she absolutely loved mine, which is how we ended up with matching USC Trojans™ checkbook covers. Shockingly, hers is in much better shape than mine and I am considering switching it out.
As I mentioned, I am also sentimental. I keep a check register, I play records, I have multiple typewriters, and I write snail mail. This is all to say that I was fucking thrilled to find some Forever Stamps™ and I may use them on holiday cards to the family who still receives our holiday cards. They won’t know the stamps came from my mother, but I will.
I was also excited to find nail polish. My grandmother, my mother, and myself have always had incredibly strong nails, strong enough to open taped boxes with the flick of a finger if our nails had a bit of length. My mother also favored the bright, weird colors that I also enjoy for my nails and so having something of hers that I can use and be reminded of is really special. On top of that, I had bought her a bottle of an indie polish a decade and a half ago that is no longer available (ever, maybe?). Green is my favorite color to paint my nails (tap in, Sally Bowles!) and this particular polish has been my favorite and my own bottle is nearly empty.
If you listen to podcasts, I talk about the process of going through my mother’s things on the most recent episode of mine and my wife’s podcast, Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice. The episode is titled “Letting Go, Holding On: Lessons from Sorting a Loved One’s Belongings” and you can find us on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, & Spotify and wherever else you get your podcasts.
Thank you for being here. You can find previous issues of Optimistic Hoarder in the archive. Documenting things like this is hopefully going to give me the motivation to continue going through my mother’s things. I do not promise any sort of consistency with this newsletter and it’s free so, them’s the breaks. Also, these pieces are not heavily edited so if you catch something, no you didn’t.
Consider buying me a coffee. I’m gonna need it. And you can find my other work here.