Closet Dig

J and I had a date in her closet last night.

Seven and a half years ago when we unwrapped all our wedding gifts at her parent's house a few days after the ceremony, we sorted our new treasures into a "take" pile and a "leave behind" pile. All her other worldly goods had come to our new apartment in New York a few weeks before in her grandparent's box truck, so we only had room to bring what we could fit in the backseat and trunk of our little Neon.

We sorted out some necessities that we still were missing, like silverware and bathroom towels. The rest was left in a heap downstairs for her parents to pack away. (We had a plane to catch at BWI.) They threw away all the wrapping paper, repacked the boxes, and stowed everything away in her closet. Every once in awhile when we were down for a visit we'd open the closet door and look at the piles of unmarked cardboard boxes. This summer we even did a bit of digging, looking for a beautiful clock that her grandparents had given us, a copy of the clock that hangs in their own living room. We found the clock without too much trouble, and it was one of the first items we put up in our new house.

I remember stepping back and looking at the gorgeous timepiece, thinking "Now that we are homeowners we can have nice things. Now we can live like adults and put up actual furniture and decor." I brought James into the living room to show him some of the chime music that the clock sounded, along with the little figures of smiths striking bells and anvils in the base of the clock. As soon as the music started his eyes bulged, and then he hid behind my leg and begged me to take the clock off and put it away. I'll still threaten to turn the clock on sometimes if he's especially out of control, and that will settle him right down. We waited seven years to put up that clock, and we basically use it as a time-out threat.

Speaking of that clock, the Weitzel copy sounded when we were visiting them for Christmas, and James reacted the same way. He hid behind the rocking chair until it stopped and then repeatedly asked if anyone would go upstairs with him until Pop-Pop assured him that the clock was now "turned off." The Weitzel house, as it turns out, is quite full of terrors. When Great-Grandma saw how much James loves his friend George, she brought down a very large (two foot tall?) monkey doll that she used to show her kindergartners. James wasn't a fan of the monkey either...in fact, he just about jumped out of his skin whenever he looked at it. Naturally, I buckled it into his carseat before we went outside to leave. "OH NO....a monkey!!!"

But anyway, we hadn't been into J's closet since our brief excavation of the clock, and we were curious to see what seven year old treasures lurked within the boxes and blankets stored therein. More importantly, our window of opportunity was running out. Her parents had graciously agreed to store the gifts we couldn't take back all those years ago, but they gave us a ten year limit. We talked about retrieving gifts every time we moved to a new apartment, but we inevitably stuffed our closets (and pantries and bookshelves) to the gills and couldn't imagine bringing up a whole closet worth of extra stuff, however fantastic the treasure might be.

But now, we are homeowners. And not only do we have room for the rest of our wedding presents, we have a hitherto unknown appreciation for homey sorts of gifts. This year, for example, we received a centerpiece for Christmas. In years past I would have said a polite thank you but secretly been thinking of pinecone jokes. This year, I thought about how nice it would look in the dining room. This year we also received some bathroom towels. In years past I would have thought about how the closet already didn't shut all the way because it was so full of towels, but this year I thought about how well the colors matched the powder room. I don't know whether it's homeownership, the steady approach of our 30th birthdays, or oxygen deprivation due to the two small boys, but we are certainly developing an appreciation for the home-some.

The actual dig was fun. We found a few boxes of kitchen-type items that duplicate what we already have. If you are a friend of ours and you get married some time in the next year you might just get a lovely set of pots and pans from us. We found candlesticks and picture frames, some bowls and pitchers, and a few photo albums. It's good to know about these sorts of things, but they might not come up with us. We found a beautiful set of silverware that's going to come up and replace our current set. (And I hereby swear and make public attestation that I will not pack the nice silverware in my lunchbox and then leave it in places like Syracuse, Buffalo, Houghton, or Lima.) We found a food processor which will be exceedingly useful with another infant to nourish. We found lots of journals and old homework projects of J's, and even a bag full of her old dolls and friends. I'm not sure I could appreciate until James just how hard it would be to throw out or give away all of a child's "friends." I thought about finding George or Steven in a big black bag some day as I looked at her old Teddy Bears and Bunnies, and decided maybe James ought to pick out one of her old friends to bring back with us to New York. There was only one perishable item that hadn't survived the seven year wait--some nice looking bottle of moisturizer/lotion had curdled, but was contained within a bathroom pouch that will get thrown out.

There were some other fun items too, and hopefully everything fits in the Yaris for the return trip. We also have to get two boys packed in, along with the blocks, trolley, play tools, clothes, tractors, and helicopter they received.

Chances are, if you're reading this blog, that you were at our wedding seven and a half years ago. We might have written you a little note saying thank-you then, but it's worth repeating once more. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your kindness and generosity. When we were newlywed kids just starting out in a little tree-house apartment you all gave us marvelous gifts. Some of them we've used for years now, and some of them, as we settle into our first house, we're excited to use for the first time. We really were touched again as we surveyed our treasures.