Ryan and I are in the process of purging the basement. Again. We've done this a few times since we've moved into this house, and each time we wonder why in the world we saved all this stuff, just to move it a couple of times (Kilburn, to storage unit, to this house) and now to get rid of it. I'll admit that I tend to keep things for sentimental reasons, but as our house has increased in clutter with toys everywhere (ughhh - I cannot keep it under control, no matter how hard I try!) I have become fed up and am willing to throw things away that previously I would never have dreamed of getting rid of. Good for me, right? Right?! But it is hard to decide what to do with some things. I DO want to keep some stuff from my past - keepsakes aren't all bad. It's just deciding what I should keep and what isn't worth the space. In the meantime, however, it's been a great trip down memory lane! This evening I went through a lot of work I did in high school. It was nice to remember how smart I am! ;) But really, it is. My days are filled with nursing, delivering children to school/to the bus, the never-ending tidying up, doing dishes, laundry, spit-up, making sure a certain daughter hasn't ingested something dangerous, etc, etc - I enjoy remembering that I am more than that. Now don't get me wrong - I wouldn't give up being home with my kids. I am well aware that this is a stage in my life and it will end sooner than I think, and I will lament its passing at that time - so I want to enjoy it (as much as possible - not everything is enjoyable!) But my brain power extends past these tasks - I am capable (and very capable) of intellectual thoughts and conversations. I can write papers, dissect literature, give reports, defend a thesis, write lesson plans, execute said lesson plans, work out Pythagoras' Theorem, think critically, and so much more. I reminisced as I found old assignments from high school and my positional paper (aka Exit Paper) from BBC. (THAT was a stressful assignment!) I remembered how much I really did love school. And how good I was (am??) at it. I achieved the highest mark in most of my high school classes, and graduated from all my post-secondary schools with honors. I even came across my piano exam certificates and I'd forgotten that I passed both my theory exams, and my grade 8 practical exam with honors. I realize this may sound arrogant - that is not my intention with this post. It simply goes back to having the privilege of remembering the other parts that make up who I am - where my non-Mommy talents and passions are. It was a good trip down memory lane. Very good.