Today marks my 24th anniversary of life on this planet. Pretty good timing, really, for my birthday to not only land on a Saturday this year (yay! no work!), but also before I take the plunge and head off to graduate school. All the insanity that is my cleaning and packing process has brought me new perspective and insight into my own nature. Whether that's a good thing, I'm not sure. For instance, I spent about an hour today doing some intense packing. In the process, I found a stack of folders, each organized by topic, with some items dating back almost twenty years.

It's not news to me that, in the past, I've been known to find it difficult to let go of things. And it's not that it's so much attaching sentimental value to everything. Quite often, it's an "I don't know what I should do with [insert item here]. I don't need it now, per se, but what if I need it like ten years down the line?" The premise: the only thing worse than having something and not being able to find it is not having it and being fully aware that, at one point in the past, you did have it, but decided to get rid of it.

Of course, there's nothing quite like having to pick up everything and move two states away to motivate one to finally let go of things. I rooted through some of my crap and came to the conclusion that some things aren't worth holding onto. Because who needs old newspaper clippings of opinion articles that date back three years? And instruction manuals for things you no longer own, but found the instructions amusing? Not laugh-out-loud funny, even. Totally corny, more like.

I realize now that, in the past, I found it important to look back and remember, to the detriment of enjoying the moment. Which gives me permission (from myself, you know) to get rid of that which I know I'll never again look at anyway. Okay, that's a lie. If I kept it, I'd look at it again only when I'm once again getting ready to move. Useful.

In conclusion. Number twenty-four brought amazing new, materially, memorially, pictorially, bowling-ly, and lovingly. I couldn't have asked for a better day.