I love to yard sale and go to thrift stores. It's no secret to anyone that knows me. Most Saturdays of the year, I get up at 5AM to meet up with my good friend, Debbie, at daylight to head out looking for a bargain. I don't even get up that early to go to work or to get the kids to school! You can tell I'm motivated. I love that Debbie goes with me, we have a really good time together, but sometimes she can't go...I usually go anyway. Sometimes I even try to snare some other innocent friend to give up their Saturday morning with a promise of what can be found. Rarely do we come home empty handed. And, we always have fun.
The picture above is from September 2006. Debbie and I had a great haul that morning. The bike went to Eli. We've since moved up to taking the Odyssey instead of the CRV. I'm over it being new and big and we need the space!
Now, what I really wanted you to know is that this comes from my mom's mom...my Mommom. You see, we went to her house at least one day a weekend most weekends as long as we lived in NJ which was about the first 10 years of my life. She supported http://www.deborah.org/ by collecting yard sale (she called it rummage) stuff in her garage and then holding a big sale as a fund raiser when she had an ample supply of items. As a little kid, I automatically gravitated to the hidden treasures in the garage when we visited. There were many plastic bags and boxes that generous people donated. I don't remember any thrift stores...just Mommom's garage.
It seemed like I would spend hours in that garage. The adults would all be talking and doing their thing. It probably wasn't as long as I remember. But, I'd come in all excited with the latest cool thing I'd found in this bag or that box. I imagine I talked then about as fast as Joey does these days about his finds...a sparkle in my eye. By the end of the visit, I had a nice pile. Mommom would go through the stuff with me and let me take most of what I wanted...then she'd put in a generous donation for what the stuff was worth.
Mommom and I had some troubles later on in life, but I'll always remember her fondly for her passion of helping others and letting a little girl search for treasure.
Mommom with her hair down (and bat in her hand at my birthday party...
The garage...
The house...
The house...
Unfortunately, Mommom (and Poppop) has passed away, and her house has been sold. A truly low point in my life. Somehow I always thought I could keep that 'Cinderella' house intact forever. I didn't want this vase or that chair...I wanted it to stay as it was forver. It was 1991 when I last saw the house. I'm sure it's changed a lot with the new owner, but I hope to see it again...and remember among other things...searching for treasure.
More entries about good childhood memories there are sure to come. If you're interested in seeing more pictures of the house, you can look here:
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