How to Remember Important Stuff

I'm moving again.  (Just to another complex in Lafayette.  I no longer have a roommate so I had to find a single-bedroom apt.)  I've always disliked moving, and the biggest chore of it for me has always been my books.  I have quite a few.

As I was, for the second time in 10 months, packing them all into cardboard boxes, I thought for a second about the possibility of selling or donating them, but I immediately decided I couldn't.

It's not because I'm emotionally attached to stuff. I have on numerous occasions given away some of my favorite books to friends.  My philosophy about that is somewhat utilitarian: if I'm not reading it right now, why not let someone else enjoy it? Loaning is an option, but I don't like burdening my friends with the guilt of never returning it.   And I've never been much of a pack rat.  I often have the opposite problem: if I don't perceive the immediate value of something, I can toss it into the trash with a zeal normally reserved for dirty diapers and junk mail.

But my books . . . my books are my pictures.  I don't take a lot of pictures.  (I have a nagging sense I'm going to regret that one day.)  My books are snapshots of my soul's journey.  They help me remember who I am, what I believe, how I've changed, who recommended this one to me, what I was going through when I read that one. 

Luckily enough for me, I now buy most of my books on Kindle, so storage won't be an issue.  I can keep all of my books, so I don't have to worry about forgetting important stuff, like who I am.  Now I just need to work on putting my camera to good use, so I don't forget other important stuff, like my friends and family.