Surprises in Unlikely Places

Last weekend my family and I were deep cleaning our house in preparation for a party. My grandfather’s birthday is October 27th and we’ve agreed to host his birthday dinner at our house. We aren’t necessarily messy people, but we’re a family of four creatives who also have issues with hoarding sentimental objects so our main issue is organization. My dad and I were focused on moving things to storage that no longer needed to be at our house while my sibling and mom focused on cleaning the inside and fixing up some broken appliances. 

My dad and I spent most of our time outside on the side porch. There were two large boxes full of cleaning supplies, caked in dust and grime. After going through them, most were things my mom had been looking for and they were quickly re-organized inside where they belong. There were also two medium sized containers of pet treatments, all of which were 10 or more years old. To my dad’s disappointment, we had to throw away at least one full bottle of flea treatment. 

Once the side porch was cleared of all unnecessary things, my dad swept and dusted as best he could. Later, my sibling and I helped my dad move an outside table from the front porch to the newly cleaned side porch. While we were moving the table, we decided to finally open the large, industrial freezer-shaped box that sits in the corner of the porch. We hadn’t opened it because we assumed it was more outside items that needed to be there, but our curiosity got the best of us. There were a load of unlabeled boxes and bags, none of which needed to sit outside any longer. My dad started rifling through one of the boxes and found a bunch of plates, napkins, utensils, and decorations for a birthday party. We immediately decided to store them for my grandad’s upcoming party. 

My dad pulled out a drawstring bag that had my deadname written on it and handed it to me as he continued to rifle through the trunk. I opened the bag and found at least half of a collection that I had convinced myself I’d lost years ago. Deep in this dirty bag, buried in a trunk out on my porch for the past however many years- my Monster High dolls. There were a few Ever After High dolls and even one My Little Pony doll as well. I was hit with immediate excitement, nostalgia, and indescribable joy. I took the bag inside to begin sorting through what all was in there. It was not my complete collection, but it gave me the confidence that I would find the rest of them. 

Author: Richie Stover

hello! i'm richie (he/they). i've always viewed writing as the best way to communicate the millions of overlapping ideas i have swirling around in my brain at all times. sometimes verbalization isn't easy, and writing has become an outlet for me to be unapologetically myself. whether it's through poetry, short stories, essays, or plain rambles; i always feel complete when i'm able to write out my thoughts.

5 thoughts on “Surprises in Unlikely Places”

  1. That’s so nice! I wish I could find dolls and stuff from my childhood I used to be so attached to that stuff, but I’m completely convinced all of them were thrown away </3

    1. i was too! i had basically had a funeral for my old dolls bc a bunch of our childhood toys were donated but turns out they were hiding the whole time!!

  2. I know that feeling of finding something from your childhood that you lost. I could literally feel it through the screen. I’m waiting for the day I find my plastic tea party set that I’m really afraid got thrown away but you gave me hope.

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