Never Throw Anything Out!

Accumulating is easy... Tossing is tough!

I'm constantly trying to decide what to get rid and what to keep! Terry and I tend to hold on to receipts and sentimental travel souvenirs for way too long... (We still have a box of receipts from a major home renovation we did in the year 2000!)

But recently - on the same day - I regretted having thrown stuff out, NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE! (My mother would have said: "You never need something till you throw it out!")

My first pang of regret came when I realized that the author of a book I'm reading is the same woman whose investiture I happened to attend in 2011 at the Episcopalian Cathedral in Washington, DC. 

A friend and I had been at a conference near Washington. Before returning to Ottawa on a mid-afternoon flight, we drove to the beautiful cathedral and wandered around. Then we went into the service, not having any that idea that it would be something special. But we were surprised to discover that this church service was the investiture of the first woman Episcopalian Bishop of Washington. 

Years later her name was in the news after she challenged the current US president  - not once, but twice. 

The program for her investiture had a beautiful yellow cover. I kept it for years as a souvenir of this momentous event we had happened upon.

The last time I saw it, I was sorting through books to give away. In my mind, I could hear my daughter's voice reminding me that I REALLY needed to get rid of more stuff. I took the program and... I THINK I put it in the recycle bin. (But NOW I would be THRILLED to discover it tucked away in a filing cabinet drawer!)

The second time I regretted getting rid of something occurred on that same day! (Is there a lesson here for me?!)

The battery on Terry's old IPhone was dying. I wanted to transfer his SIM card to another old IPhone we had. But the phone locked when I put the SIM card in. I  took the phone to the Apple store to get them to unlock the phone, but the apple tech "genius" (That's really what they call them!)... said they would only do it if I showed them my original purchase receipt. 

Of course I don't have it! A phone warranty is good for a year - and this phone is probably 10 years old!

(Lesson learned: Never throw ANYTHING out!)