Yard Sale Reflection
Lauren Middleton
I have been working on putting together a yard sale for the past several weeks and we decided this weekend would be the weekend we would try to have it. It has been high for 40 degrees, windy, and even a little rain…. Perfect weather for a yard sale! Believe it or not people did show up and it was a successful sale! I am telling you all this because when going through the house I found a lot of things that brought back memories. Some good, some not so good, but all shaped me into who I am today! I wanted to share a few fun memories that surfaced again while turning my entire home inside out for this endeavor.
Multipurpose Boots
The first one is actually one that my sister reminded me of that makes me laugh every time I think about it. In college I took floral design as an elective and loved it! The number one rule was not to forget our tools for this class. We had to repeat after the professor “Dr. DelPrince I will not forget my tools!” Yep his name was Dr. DelPrince…. That is probably the best part of the whole thing. His name was fitting of his temperament as well, the whole situation was just epic. Anyways, in one lab we were told to arrange wildflowers in something unique we had at home. That day I somehow forgot about the lab (luckily, I kept my tools in my bag), but I did not have my unique item. Thinking on my feet, no pun intended, I took my boot off and made my arrangement in my boot! It turned out so cute and it was like I planned the whole thing. Those boots sold in the sale today and I giggled a little when the girl walked away with them wondering what kind of memories she will have with that cute pair of boots.
Yep it was the early 2000s….
Another thing I found while going through all of my things was my “football jeans”. They are just a pair of Abercrombie jeans that I bought my sophomore year of high school. Those old jeans were part of so many adventures but mainly I wore them at every high school football game. Fun fact, I was a football trainer in high school which basically we helped out with the physical therapy side of the program and organized for the coaches. I did this with a couple of other girls and guys and we traveled with the team. There were more than a handful of great stories from that whole experience but one that stood out was during a game at Oak Forest High School in Louisiana. It was threatening to rain the whole evening but it was not until the game started that it started to pour. There was no lightning so everyone opted to continue to play. We were on the sidelines as we were for every game and a pass was thrown our direction, it was caught but when the receiver came down from the catch he was tackled right away. I am sure you all can see where this is going, but in all of the mud they slid our direction, and I happened to be in the line of fire. I was tackled to the ground and let’s just say it was great entertainment for everyone! It was embarrassing but how can you not laugh at the situation.
One of Missy’s Kids
The last story I will share is not as funny as the other two but it was a turning point that was special to me. I found a shirt that I wore for my first aged event finals in the Will Rogers. It was purple because my lucky shirt when I was little was a dark purple shirt. Dad wanted to get me another for that finals to celebrate and I remember how perfect I thought it was when we found it. I was riding a big mare named Smoke N Zack but we called her Missy, she had a white face and four white legs. Missy was a beautiful mare, I rode her in the Classic Amateur and I think I was around 16 at the time. I have kept that shirt even though it is way too short for me now because of the memories attached to it, but I decided it was time to let someone else enjoy it. This event was not a point in which I fell in love with cutting, but rather when I fell in love with the “Big Stage” and wanting to pursue the next level of the sport.
One of my earlier pieces
There were many other things that I thought about through this whole process, these stories are only the very tip of the iceberg. The experience also brought to light how much my artwork has changed over the years. I am proud of how far I have come, it was cool to see the changes and the journey to figuring out new things as time has gone on. The whole yard sale thing was a little period of reflection and I am glad that I took the time to do it. Granted it was very needed but might as well turn it into something deeper so that it is more than just a chore. With that said, if anyone needs a picture frame, pillow sham, or stuffed unicorn, I’m your girl!