Seeds vs Fruit

I have begun packing, as I intend to move to the dream (see: LONDON) that has for so long been a fortnightly 2.5 hour round trip on a train. For someone who hates monotony, repetition, being bored and not being inappropriate, packing is well and truly crap.

Whilst doing this crap task I started thinking of other crap, obviously my mind wandered to the Antiques Roadshow. All the people who appear on the show usually have expensive things they had forgotten about or never knew they had. Although they get a nice pay packet in the end, I now think I understand what they go through.

I began filtering items to keep, items to throw away, evidence to burn, and that sort of thing. Doing this I came across a valuable cache of memories; I decided this was the perfect time to catch up with long lost friends. It was my drawer of all the sappy things I’ve kept throughout the years; cards, letters, first time stuff (ticket stubs), poems from girls, presents I never wanted etc.

I spent an hour sat on the floor, amidst the papers, reading through things, looking through old photos, notes etc, and genuinely thanking my lucky stars for the experiences, memories and emotions I have shared with people. It made all the crap of packing worth it. While maybe it wasn’t the greatest memory at the time, reminiscing about it now was done with a smile.

I have always thought  that buying people cards and putting pen to paper for people was pointless. After all we do live in a world of FB, email, text messages and whatsapp. At the end of the day, if it’s a special occasion I would much rather buy someone something they wanted and end it at that. An analogy is to give someone a really juicy bunch of grapes they’ve always wanted (see: http://haveyoumetabs.blogspot.com/2011/04/tez-bday-n-shopping.html. However the cards and notes that usually come with those gifts are really just the things that are socially expected on special occasions, in essence the seeds that remain from the grape.

I have always thought that I could say what I wanted to say in person as opposed to spelling it out; it’s more to the point. However, I think I have just been proven wrong, after 27 years. I now realise the impact and long lasting effect that comes from the written word. And thinking about it, most things people have said to me I have genuinely forgotten and this is not because I don’t care but because I’m human and have a limited capacity.

I now have a new found appreciation for all of the cards, and letters and the ‘things’ people have given me. I also now appreciate all the memorabilia I have kept over the years (who knew ticket stubs could warrant audible laughter?). So watch your mailbox friends and don’t expect any more presents – this guy is all about the written word. I may even just buy grape seeds instead of the grape too.