I have a group of stuffed animals that I’ve kept, not because I particularly like them, but because they came from the person who was my best friend from the time we were teenagers until he died unexpectedly a couple of years ago. I look at them, and they remind me of him. They don’t remind me of him because he liked stuffed animals (Honestly, he found them rather silly), but because for several years he ran an import/export business selling Beanie Babies on Ebay, back at a time when they were all the rage and people paid huge amounts of money for various specific animals.

Compounding the sentimentality of these objects is the fact that about a year after his death, I lost the boxes of our correspondence that I had saved in a huge flood that swept through my house (and the surrounding area, of course). But I keep looking at them, and each time I know don’t really care for them. And here they are, sitting on a shelf and collecting dust, taking up space in my house.

So I am preparing to release them, at least most of them. (I think I’ll keep the Walrus named Paul, because that one actually makes me laugh. Goo Goo G’Joob.) My memories of my friend aren’t tied to these objects. My memories of my friend are about the things we learned together, the adventures we had together, and the love we shared.

It feels more difficult to get rid of objects that remind us of someone we love, especially if that person is gone. But I find these animals neither beautiful not useful, and I much prefer to remember my friend by looking at pictures, hearing particular pieces of music, or remembering various conversations and outings.

So, I’m preparing to send them off. A cousin of mine collects Beanie Babies, so they’ll go to her. She’ll enjoy them, and I’ll no longer have them cluttering my home.  It took me a while to feel ready to part with them, but now it feels like a lightening.  Goodbye, bears.

Do you have things you’ve held on to, even though you don’t particularly like them, because they remind you of or came from someone you love? Do you still have them? If not, what allowed you to finally let go of them?