Sorting papers easier than parting with cherished baseball caps

As we continue to downsize our things in anticipation of our move in April, Bob has taken on the job of all of the folders, pictures, letters and anything else that inhabits our files. And let me tell you, that file was so full, it was hard to get the drawers open.

He has a very set routine; he has taken over one end of the dining room table. This is where he sorts and reads long-forgotten birthday, anniversary and get well cards. He has the kitchen wastebasket where he tosses things he doesn't want or can live without. And much to my surprise, he has gotten rid of mountains of "stuff."

He has spent several days at this job. What I had thought would be drudgery has turned into a barrel of fun for him. Every time I walk through the dining room, he is cackling over a cherished letter or card that definitely goes into the "keep" file.

Some of the things in the file were newspaper clippings of another lifetime. These he spends much time with, bringing back long-forgotten memories of long ago, baseball, softball and basketball games. In his early days, he played lots of baseball.

He came across a couple of baseball pictures, and he was wearing a Coca Cola baseball uniform. That was when he was playing semi-pro baseball and actually played baseball against Mickey Mantle. That was when Mickey was playing semi-pro baseball before he made it to the big time. He finally finished that file and is now on another mountain of "stuff" from his big oak desk. That too, was chuck full.

This has taken up lots of his time, but it really helps me. If I had attempted to sort and toss, I would most assuredly have tossed something that he wanted to keep. So . . . this way, if anything gets tossed, I am not to blame. (I hope)

Another downsizing adventure has turned into "not so good." This project was what I thought would be a slam dunk deal, but it has really turned sour. This is the vast collection of baseball caps that have seemed to accumulate in our entrance hall. They are hanging on everything except the ceiling. I think I would be safe in saying he maybe has three dozen. I was looking forward to them being really thinned down. But no, the end and final count was exactly four that he put in the box to take to the resale shop and two that he actually said could be thrown away. In fact, some that he put in the "keep" file were so dirty and awful, they looked like they should have gone in the rag bag.

Like my Mama always used to say, "Win some, lose some." I definitely lost this one.

Bob just finished reading this column, and he said "You got that right; if anything gets tossed out that I wanted, it is your fault." Can you believe it? We will soon be married 63 years, and we are still together!