I Do Mildew

I dove into the basement clutter today.  OK, not intentionally.  I was putting Christmas Decorations away and needed some space so I saw two of my 200 still unpacked boxes there and needed to move them so I figured that I would "unpack them" {yep, procrastinate actually putting the decorations away}.

Being recently divorced I have moved twice in the last two years.  Utter mayhem precluded each move for a variety of reasons.   The boxes I unearthed today were obviously packed in panic and haste. Contents of the box I am about to discuss included one tiny toddler size white tap shoe {my children are 12 and 8}, REM cassette tape from college, two slippers that did not make a pair, my wedding shoes, a doll from when I was little that my grandmother gave me, a Limoges bunny, one perfectly folded cloth napkin, and a Christmas theme bathroom towel.  Oh, and what was once the most beautiful pale blue memory box with silver embossed writing on the cover that read "Wedding".

I actually forgot I even had this box.  It hails from a point in my life when I actually took the time to buy fancy boxes like this and put like items inside them.  That was a long, long time ago. The Wedding box was at the bottom of the array of bizarre items I found.  Looked a bit different then I recalled.
Seemed a little bit paler blue.   I took it out and it had an odd odor.  Probably because the contents looked like this:

Yes, that is mold.  Seems somewhere in the process of moving and storing boxes in garages and basements the bottom of the box became wet and soaked right through and disgusting smelly mold now covered all of my wedding ephemera. I sat and I cried.

Now, as a divorced woman you may think this strange.  Why should I care, right?  I am not exactly sure I can pin point the exact reason.  Frustration, disappointment, bad choices, hurt, anger - - - I think they all come in to play.  This box at one time was carefully packed full of all of my favorite things from what is still one of the happiest days of my life.  Now because of my own carelessness most of what I saved is ruined.  Cards from friends and loved ones no longer with us.  Invitations to pre wedding celebrations, my wedding program, table numbers and the marriage certificate.....gone.  Gone along with the marriage itself.

I wiped off what I could.  Dried out what I was able.  Saved a few things that could be salvaged.  But the beautiful box is destroyed and 90 percent of what was inside is gone as well.  This is what happens when you are careless and unorganized.  This is what happens when you don't pay attention.  Things get ruined.  Memories get lost. Maybe that is when marriages unravel too.   In any case I am trying to change my ways.  Today, a painful reminder of the cost of procrastination and disorganization.  I don't like it one bit, either.