The Birthday Crown

It’s a small thing. Doesn’t take up much space, has no financial value. It would be easy to keep it around, but it has outlived its purpose in our lives. It’s time to go.

We bought the crown from a party store around 1996 to enhance our family birthday ritual. The birthday person had the honor of wearing the crown when it was time for cake. It shows up in myriad pictures across our family albums (and yes, even John and I wore it when it was our turn). But now our kids are adults, living far from us; honestly, I can’t remember the last time anyone donned the birthday crown. It caught my eye as I scanned shelves in our storage room, looking for items that should leave our home. Even though we’re letting go of this sentimental item, we’re not letting go of the memories associated with it; those will always be dear to us.

What do you have in your home that has outlived its purpose in your life? You might scan the shelves, the closets, the cabinets for clues. Some of those items might be disposable, as our paper crown is. Other items still have life and could bring value to someone else. What prompts you to hold on to all the things? You’ll always have the memories; do you need the stuff too? Or might it be time to let go?