Last weekend I was lucky enough to be able to stay in Miami for three full days. Why? My parents are cleaning out our Miami house, and I needed to pack up my stuff.

You would think that, at 28, this would have already been done. But I live in a 1000 sq foot townhome with 3 closets and another person (Pete) that also has stuff, so my old stuff hasn’t made it to Orlando yet. My wedding dress is actually still in Miami because I have no where to put it and I missed the preservation deadline.

When I told people I was going home to pack up my childhood room, they wondered what I would still have there to bring back. I’m not a hoarder or anything, but I am a memory keeper. When I got home on Tuesday with two plastic containers (one with things I had picked out to keep,  and another one to go through), I also had two boxes of notes and Letters from 1996-1997. I think that’s 7th grade. Peter asked me, “You’ve kept these since 1996? So even your 7th grade self thought they were important?” I didn’t really have an answer. All I know is that I through away one box of notes and regretted it, so I won’t be doing that again. Maybe it’s the writer in me, keeping all that “research” in case I ever decided to write a book. Maybe I need to see where I’ve been to see where I’m going. I have no idea.

My plastic bins contained “Little Treasures.” These are things I’ve had since I was a kid, like a Peter Pan tin that holds all of the foreign money my dad would give me when he’d receive it as payment at work. All of my poetry and creative writing from elementary school. My photography notebook. Fossils and shark’s teeth that I used to collect. My first pencil box (with the receipt!)–it cost $16.95 because it was pretty high tech at the time. A flag from my 15th birthday, when Jen, Cristin, and Carolina put it on the flag pole at a youth retreat to surprise me.

All little bits of memories that make up a life.

Did you know that I lettered in tennis at Palmetto? Me either! I completely forgot. I remember playing on the team, but my only real memory of it is riding on a bus to Naples and getting hit on by some boy’s team tennis player from Sunset High. When we got to Naples, I had to sleep in a room with two girls I didn’t know and they boy’s team busted out pot to smoke before the match. That’s when I decided that high school tennis just wasn’t for me. Not sure that I played again after that!

This is Dolly (creative name), my doll that I carried around when I was little. I have no idea where she came from or how I liked such an ugly doll, but I still love her. Please note the really old Keds shoebox–that’s filled with “nature items” like shark’s teeth, etc.

I was into family history even when I was little. My Grandma Kathleen took me to see my Uncle Bill and Aunt Helen. Uncle Bill is notorious in our family because I asked him to “show his teeth” for a photo, so he took his teeth out and put them in my sister’s hand. We had never seen dentures before, and it freaked us both out. Anyway, Uncle Bill had all sorts of things to give me when I visited with Grandma Kathleen, including this broach made of someone’s hair. When I found this at the bottom of a shoebox, I almost threw up. I don’t like random hair, let alone hair that’s over 100 years old. I think I shoved it in a drawer to bring back next time, because I know I have to keep it, but have no idea what to do with it.

These are on the top of my bookshelf. The two china dolls are from my Aunt Jan and my Nanny (great grandma). Not sure about the basket that looks like a dog. I made that “colonial house” as part of a third grade project, and my Nanny gave me the church. I think it used to light up at one point. The roses are from a guy that I liked in 7th grade. I have no idea why I still have them. The dolls, church, and dog basket will probably come  home with me next time.

Random shelf of stuff. I will probably take photos of the tennis trophies, keep that “no serve, no volley, no guts, no glory tennis ball, and the Gabriella Sabatini-signed tennis ball. I bought two of the “prayer bears” for Jennifer and I when we found out her mom had cancer, one to give to her to let her know I was thinking about her mom, and to remind myself to pray for her.

I think that Nanny gave me this little cat, and I always loved it. She broke once, but we were able to put her back together. Now that I think about it, she’s the same color as Tater was. I love her and she’ll come home with me next time. I’ve had the Mickey Mouse bank since I was a baby, and it will come home too. I think it still has money in it!

McDonald’s lunchbox filled with notes, friendship bracelets, and postcards. This one is from my parents. I don’t remember where they went, but they always sent me postcards when they were on vacation. I loved getting them–getting mail was one of my favorite things when I was little.

And last, but not least:

The Mix Tapes. Oh, teenage angst. I used to  LOVE making these. My mom’s van (yes, I started out as a van driver) only had a cassette player, and so I guess I spent a lot of time making these. They’re all labeled and the songs are all listed. I brought them back so that I can make playlists. We found a tape player that my mom still had, so Deryck and I listened to some of the songs. Oh 90’s music, how I miss you. I even found 3 of the first singles that I had ever bought, including “I Wish” by Skee-Lo. I still know most of the words :). Hear its awesomeness in the video (made by South Miami High students–the real one has been banned by UMG) below.