Meet Luigi

I have begun the process of packing and purging for the upcoming move to Utah.

It's really too soon to move again!

Didn't we just do this?

Yesterday hubby and I decided to empty the attic and go through the stuff that was up there to see what we really needed (?) to take with us.

Upon first inspection, my thoughts were basically this:

throw it all away!

Why do I need anything that only sits in an attic and I never look at it?

Then I started opening bins.

One of the bins included a bunch of stuff from my past.

High School yearbooks

old diaries

(I should probably burn those...)

and various keepsakes

Here is one of them:

Meet Luigi

He's a stuffed lion that I kept as a mascot of sorts when I was in High School.

We were the Manzano Monarchs 

(Mascot: Lion not butterfly)

I used to bring him to track and Cross Country meets for good luck.

He gathered a variety of pins as the years went by.

My Honor Society pin

The name tag from the fast food restaurant where I worked in High School.

No idea how I ended up with my friend Jennifer's tag, instead of my own.

There's probably a story there that I don't remember...

The pin from the Boy Scout Explorer troop

(not totally sure that's the right name of the type of troop that it was)

We flew a hot air balloon and joined in the chase crew.

I don't remember doing it a lot but I loved the idea of it.

and having the pin.

I wore this pin on my letter jacket in school.

I also had another pin that I wore that said

"I need someone really bad.

Are you really bad?"

haaaaa!

I did the needlepoint on this little heart and then made it into a pin.

It's my school colors (purple and white).

I think I made it in a class but wouldn't bet my life on it...

There's also a pin on his right hand that is two ribbons.

I have no idea what they were.

Some award that meant a lot to me and I wanted to keep it forever.

Obviously.

I loved Luigi and every time I've moved or looked through that old bin, I haven't been able to throw him away.

But I think now I am ready.

I took his picture.

I have now told his story.

The time has come.