Not every thing that looks like clutter is so and I tell this story to potential clients who are afraid that we who are professional organizers will “make” them throw their precious treasures away. The following poem was written by my now-husband Angelo after our first “alone date”. He kept the two (used) paper cups on the kitchen counter for several months.
Paper Cups by Angelo SpandrioThey are just two paper cups
You know the kind
You get them from Espresso stands
For hot drinks to go
But these two are different
I see a day in them
A day that I will never forget
And why so special, this day?
Well, it was a day in the forest
A morning at the hot springs
Next to you,
You holding my hand
It was a day with your smile
With your laugh
With your touch
With your love
We had lunch at the lodge
so much to talk about
We sat by the lake
so much to see
You would laughingly find steps
from which to kiss me
And my heart would race
every time I held you
We had a wonderful drive home
quietly sitting
so comfortable
so warm
What a day it was!
my mind churns with the memories
to be with you again
is my fondest wish
So, you should see now
what those cups mean
They hold for me a day
a precious treasure
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
We’ve been married for almost 16 years now and we don’t have those cups anymore, but we do continue to have coffee dates. This poem is typed on the back of outdated letterhead on a 1970-something Sears and Roebuck electric typewriter, and lives in a $2.00 Walmart frame, proudly hung beside a second poem he wrote for me (housed in a mismatched frame). If you are hanging on to mementos, make sure they are on display for everyone to see.
Sometimes, it’s not clutter…
so simple so loving so true