On Old vs. Historic, a timeless question; Housekeeping matters

Recently my wife and I have been cleaning our home since the oldest daughters have graduated from college and officially moved. As we go through the old bedrooms, sifting through the boxes of memorabilia, the question arises every minute or so, "Is this Old or is this Historic?" It has been a very popular question lately.

There was an easier time when we had only one child, and the decision was simple. Everything was historic. Everything was saved. Every momento from every birthday celebration, every art effort in preschool was dutifully saved for posterity. Our entire culture depended on us preserving each historic effort. If we had stayed the course on that program, we would have had to move out decades ago.

Sometime during the long Saturday cleaning session, I simply asked the question. "Am I old or am I historic?" In a heartbeat I realized that I had crossed the line. So, I just laughed and said, "Yes, I am just old. We all are."

I guess when we are very young and foolish, everything is historic, everything is going to last forever, every little thing is critical for the survival of the culture. Then, most of us adjust. Most of us can tell the difference. Most of us can be honest with ourselves about what is old and what is historic.