Junk Pile of Memories For Sale!

"Candy Necklaces for sale, $35!" This is what Jr shouted to the onlookers of our miscellaneous junk scattered on tables during our recent garage sale. I was sitting in the lawn chair with my fanny pack of change, partially embarassed, somewhat ashamed, and excited at the prospect of acutally getting money for items we otherwise found useless. The thought occured to me that one foreign to the idea of a yard sale, would consider such an event equal to torture and would never be talked into hosting such a thing. Why is it that displaying my junk or "dirty laundry" on tables in my driveway, watching strangers riffle through it, and then haggling with them over change sounded appealing at all?

Each time I placed a new item to be sold on the table, it brought back memories. The dolls I played with when I was little that were saved for the daughters I never had, the baby clothes passed down through three sons that I did have, and the text books that reminded me of why I ate so much Top Ramen when I was in college. Watching Jr., encouraged by his Grandma, to set up a candy stand on top an overturned box in our driveway also reminded me of when I was a kid attempting to sell rhubarb, don't ask me why, to complete strangers for 5 cents. Although we made only 5 cents, split between three kids, after hours of standing behind wilted rhubarb, I have only fond memories of that day.


This past sale, was much more work than I remember with that rhubarb sale as a kid. It required several in-laws, days of preperation, one big barbeque, and a messy house that took several days to recover from the devestation. So I ask myself, was the $700 in sales worth the three day weekend of hard work....... probably not, but I do think the revisiting of old memories and the making of new ones was.