Lost and Found

After I moved out from the condo unit back to my parent's house, I had avoided cleaning my room for the longest possible time.

The fire a few months back made a pretty darn good excuse since it meant weeks of renovation for the burnt attic. Blaming my busy schedule at work also worked for a couple of times. But, as we always say, good things must come to an end. I just HAD to start cleaning out my closet, or I might find myself sent out of my room (at this age and time) without a bed to sleep on for the night.

Amidst the grime and dust, I had found some rather interesting stuff that I thought I had lost through the years.

... my first Valentine's card from this gangly kid whom I played pretend games with back in third grade (The memory of an 11-year old declaring his love for you while you're pretending to be mommy and daddy is pretty cute.)
... a stackful of Post-Its that my friends and I passed around during Biology and Filipino class to pass the time
... an unsent and unfinished love letter that I insisted on writing to my crush asking him to marry me back in sixth grade (thank God I didn't have money for stamps.)
... several birthday cards sent by thoughtful friends acquaintances over the years
... snapshots of me and my friends during my 18th birthday, wearing the most hideous debutante dresses (I can't believe that was the fad at that time.)
... old notebooks with doodles of my name intertwined with an old crush from college

I can't help but spend a few moments to go through those things one by one, line by line.

Some made me laugh at the sheer silliness of the words. Some left a bittersweet ache in my heart, remembering "the one/s who got away". Some just made me shudder and fervently wish that I had more sense than to wear shoulder pads to my prom night.

But regardlessof the situation, each and every one of them managed to envoke a reaction from me. It stirred some long-forgotten memories that played a huge part in your growing up years.

And I guess, at the end of the day, this is what makes cleaning my closet worthwhile. Because I get to find hidden treasures. And I get to walk down the memory lane once again. I wonder what other stuff I might find when I clean my room again, let's say, 5 years from now? :)