Treasure Hunt

Several years ago, neighbors were moving from the house they had lived in for thirty-some years right after Christmas. We had them over for Christmas dinner, knowing that most of their kitchen was packed away. They talked about all the boxes of saved things that they'd had to sort through and how difficult it was since so much of it had sentimental value. My mom was there too and later said she didn't understand how people could let so much stuff pile up. She shook her head in disbelief at the folly of it all. Oh, mom! What happened to that wonderful philosophy of enjoying something for a while, like birthday cards or Playbills, and then getting rid of them? It seems that over the past few years she forgot all about it. I've been cleaning out her house, getting it ready to go on the market, and I'm amazed at what I'm finding. Charities liked her a lot better than they like me. I get return address labels and small notepads. She gets socks, gloves and t-shirts, blankets, manicure sets and pens by the dozen. I know she gave a lot of it away, because I never came home from a visit empty-handed. But there are still piles of this stuff distributed around the house. Mostly it's Christmas cards. I know I get one or two packets from certain charities each fall, but mom must have gotten dozens. She gave me many and gave more to a friend who uses them for crafts. So where did all the rest come from? How long had she been stockpiling them? It's the first thing I saw when we came back to start sorting her belongings. Envelopes and small gift bags and plastic bags filled with little packets of cards. I scoured the house, finding probably twenty of them without having to look hard. Then I found the ones that weren't obvious. Lift up a couple of magazines, there were more. step next to an end table and I'd bump my foot on some. In drawers in every room, in old purses, in the sewing table. I kept imagining sending a group of four-year-olds on a treasure hunt in the house. Everyone who found Christmas cards would get a prize. Every kid would win with no trouble. I'm thinking of starting a pool for how many more I find when the furniture is moved out. What's your best guess?