Lists: Forever and Always

Remember lists?   It's time for a new entry.  Read about my list posts here, then comment and add your own thought.  At the end of the month Random.org will choose a winner from everyone who added to any April list to receive an autographed novel.   Remember, please stay away from politics, religion and general snarkiness, or the gatekeeper will "lose" your entry.

I'm moving.  I've told you that before, and I bet you'll hear it a time or two more before the moving vans arrive.  But as a novelist, I spend a lot of time figuring out how to make "ordinary" things "extraordinary" for my readers. This means a certain amount of contemplation on even day-to-day events.

I move quite a bit, which is wonderful, considering that I'd never throw out anything if I didn't.  This time, though, I've been in the same house for thirteen years.  This means thirteen years of accumulated items I was certain I could never part with.

Guess what?  I can part with lots of them, and I am.

This did set me thinking, though, about what we can't part with in our lives. What is precious to us, so precious that we would do anything to keep it?

Today's list asks that question.   As always I've listed five, but you can list as few or as many as you'd like.  Just do it in a comment right here, and you'll be entered in the giveaway.

Since it goes without saying that you have people and pets in your life you would not want to live without, this list is for non-breathing object.

The Things I Could Never Give Away

1:  Anything that makes me laugh.  In my case this includes the wizard in a crystal ball who answers important questions so I don't have to, and Percy, the Singing Pig who sings "My Girl" as he shimmies back and forth on my bookshelf.

2:  My computer.  You understand why, right?

3:  Photos.  Although, let's be honest, how often do we look at them?  Still, mine represent my past, and it's a great pleasure to relive it.

4:  Fabric, sewing supplies, quilt books and magazines.  Getting rid of any of these is futile, since I would immediately begin to stash fabric again, probably on the trip to my new house.

5:  Jewelry.   I'm not a collector and I have very little of value, but much of what I do have was given to me by family or friends.  That raises the meaning of each item to a whole new level.

I felt a huge need, even a duty, to put books here, but quite honestly?  My research books are no longer as helpful as the Internet.  The novels I love are easier to store as ebooks now.  And there is always that most wonderful of places, the public library, if I want to re-read a favorite on paper.  I'll be taking my keepers, of course, but not as many as you might think.  I can't live without books, and I am eternally grateful that I will never have to.

Now, how about you?

Congratulations to Marilyn Seitz, who won the March list giveaway and will receive an autographed novel.  Thanks to everyone else who participated.