Back in the 1990s, a wonderful student of mine named Danielle Norris asked me to write her a letter of recommendation for college. She included money for postage. She was one of those extraordinary students (and yearbook staffers) for whom I would have done almost anything. Here are those pieces of ephemera:
I later received an invitation to her graduation party. I don't know why I wasn't able to go . . . because this was over twenty years ago! I had received a bunch of address books from my aunt and one of them said "Danielle" so I set it aside with the invitation, intending to get these items to her. (Along with a cash gift, I hope, but again - this was a long time ago!)
At one point in time, I tried locating Danielle and / or her parents. It had been long enough that they no longer were in the Jordan area. I have no idea if the East Coast address I found was accurate or not.
Once again, these items got buried in my numerous piles of stuff to do / deal with / follow up on. (I have sooooooo much stuff and am trying to let it all gooooooo!)
Blogging helps me to let go. Slowly but surely, my house is getting less cluttered. I'm trying to be careful about not buying things I don't need. I'm trying to donate, recycle, and toss. I don't want to leave a legacy of clutter for my children at the end of my life. Here's one more "thing" done and gone.
If Danielle ever reads this, thanks for being an amazing student and wonderful young woman. I hope you're experiencing the best that life has!
The money went into my "Buddy Barrel" - for kids ministries. The address book went into the Goodwill bag. The papers are in the recycling bin.
