This last week was my spring break. My family and I took the first two days to clean and purge the house, going through old things we hadn't looked at for years. That's one of those things that isn't much fun to do, but is always necessary. Removing antiquated things from your life not only clears up space in your home, but clears up space in your heart. I think it is extremely important to go through old things, taking the time to look at and remember what used to be. There is something bitter sweet, for example, about looking through old photo albums. Now, most of our pictures are saved digitally, but my childhood, at least, is still fully documented in printed pictures in album after album. From birth to about ten years old, my life can be told in pictures. Most of them I have no recollection of, but going through them makes my family smile and I get to see my toe-head blond curls. Now, they're not as light as they used to be. Most pictures hold happy memories. They document times in your life that you don't want to forget. Otherwise, why take a picture? The only problem is that life continues changing. Just like the year switches seasons, so do we. In only a few months I might never see some of the people that I see every day ever again. That's a strange thought. But with those pictures of my happy memories, eventually there will be a day when I go look at those pictures and they will make me wistful for times long gone. But that's okay. It's okay to be sad. It's also okay to let go of the past and move on. After all, time continues going forward, even when we just want it to freeze and let us stay in one place for a while. This also requires that we continue moving forward with it, clearing out what we don't need from our past (like old toys and clothes that no longer fit) and making space for the new, the unknown, whatever may come. As the saying goes, out with the old, and in with the new. That is the only way we will ever be able to continue moving forward.