Tag: nostalgia

*** Before beginning the post today, just a little sidenote here. I’m sure most of you have heard of the movie “Grownups” as I have not fully referenced a movie since years ago when talking about “Daddy’s Home.” It is one of our favorites and was on the other night. I decided to watch. I guess I must’ve been having an emotional time because there were a few references that I had never noticed before, and they got to me. You may not even notice or even fully care, but I did. Here’s the list:

~ UCONN Sweatshirt

~ KFC bucket of chicken ( a dream…)

~ Physiology book

~ The character of Wiley

***I am not explaining all these but boy, did I have some moments… It was a 4 count, not a 3 but they do connect to Warrior. Oh, and the sequel has a big 80’s themed party at the end. The Hulk Hogan lady look alike- oh my… I will keep 3 out of those 4 above…😑🤍

If you look below, ( for some reason it did not let me post the pic but I posted it separately today, ugh…) you’ll see a banner with graphics depicting The Ultimate Warrior. I happen to see it up close on one of my DVDs and thought to keep it for a future blog post. I wonder if fans back then or even today keep those kinds of things. Maybe they sell or even give away but it does depend on its sentiment for sure. I’ve mentioned collectibles before but for this one, it’s a little different.

Lately, I’ve been cleaning out our attic. Well, it’s been ongoing for a while but this past month is when I’ve really gotten into it much more. I know I could make tons of money with tons of stuff over the years like clothes, toys, games, books, and on and on but that’s just a hassle. I donate because it suits me. We will be moving within a few years, so it’s time to declutter A LOT. My kids entire lives seem to be up there and I had turned it into a playroom when they were younger. I used to always be a huge pack rat but then with some small spaces, it’s subsided. if you have children, you become that pack rat once again. Yes, much will be kept but I cannot keep every toy or game we have ever owned despite my daughter’s objection. I want children to play with those items now, and not the future of waiting on grandkids. OK, yes, I definitely have much on my keepers list but others do no good sitting around collecting dust.

I am making headway but man, it’s a lot of busy work. I have to put it aside soon for holiday decorating, shopping, and all that but there’s a dent in the stuff. I do know what to keep but much is getting tossed or donated. I cannot imagine Dana years ago when going through Warrior’s massive amount of belongings as I know he kept much. I even got emotional looking at old teaching materials. I just recently donated them to a daycare. Laughter came to at old photographs and all the WRITING I did on the silliest things. They weren’t silly to me then but I kept track for sure. There’s that organized Virgo in me. I wrote down checks I received over many years with dates, kids names in all my classes taught, info for backs of photos, etc. The list goes on. See, even a writer then. Packing it all up is hard but something I must do. Some items are easy to decide upon (like baby books to keep!) while others not so much. Decluttering does free us though and makes SPACE. We don’t always need to fill that space again though.

I used to think that in all aspects, including deep stuff~ you know, like feelings. I won’t get too mushy but remember how we aren’t replacements even though we try hard to be. The Ultimate Warrior was NOT Hulk Hogan’s replacement (in a way) as I’ve said before although it is debatable. That post has been written as I can be objective. What I mean is how often times we are looking to fill a space, gap, area, relationship, or anything like that right away and some will but for most, we don’t have to. We need time to reflect. Business is different from our personal lives of course as we know.

Warrior moved from certain aspects of his professional life in a fast-paced way it seemed as he liked to be busy. He did, however say later on how he wished he could’ve reflected more and slowed down to make time for things to last. That was mostly about his wrestling career, but perhaps he felt that way later on too. We always go to the next so fast and that includes tangible stuff. If we get rid of something, we buy or get more to replace it. Maybe you don’t but I bet many do. We cannot see an empty space and not fill it. Our mind can work the same way. Once an idea is out and set in motion, another will come to take its place. That’s great to be disciplined but our culture of having and doing does need to slow down in order to just BE…

Have you decluttered anything lately in your life? It doesn’t have to be attic stuff like me but what about other areas? Take some time to just clean out a dresser drawer, closet shelf, or even kitchen gadgets rarely used anymore. I have done that too. It really does feel good and you know the saying of “when in doubt, throw it out.” I also happen to like the year analogy. If you haven’t worn, used, or played with it (minus collectibles!) in a year, you probably won’t. I don’t stick to this as much as I should but it is important to keep in mind. Enough of the maybes, make a decision and stick to it. Keep what’s meant to be.

This is a harder concept to apply with people of course who are not things. I know it’s been difficult for me over the years deciding who should be in my life fully and who shouldn’t. Those “rules” above won’t work much in relationships but you can change them into metaphors. If you’ve had no contact or very little with someone in a year, are they still worthy to be in your life? We want to let them go but there are still lingering doubts. At least for some there will be.

Warrior had left WWF (E) several times and then had his disputes over the years with the McMahons. They were physically out of his life but am sure mentally not. That’s how it is for most of us with those who were present so many years and now for various reasons, are not. You get to decide who to keep and who to let go of. The mentality remains but only if we give it power. That is a huge lesson that might take our entire lives to process. Decide on your stuff, people, and anything else you’d like to declutter in every way. Keep the good. You’ll know because it will FEEL right. It may take a while but in order to move forward, we need to let go. Warrior, I will keep always. 💕

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. Friends! No, I do NOT have my 🎄 tree up yet. That begins for us after this Holiday of giving thanks.. 🧡🤎🦃🍽️