My husband and I almost finished packing up my mom and dad's house yesterday. There is so much stuff--a lot of it is junk that has accumulated over the past 43 years.

They didn't throw anything away. I found their tax returns and canceled checks with receipts all the way back to 1965. Either the shredder is going to have to work overtime, or we're going to have a big bonfire!

They kept empty pill bottles. They kept the green foam out of flower arrangements. They kept boxes that people sent things in.

But they also kept some gems. I found an old trunk with silk quilts my grandma made. Old photographs of people I don't know. Old 78 records. Old cameras. Old dolls. Old coins. Old sewing machines. Things that are absolutely priceless.

I look around my house at the things I keep and wonder why I have them. I'm not much of a pack rat--when something has lost its usefulness, it goes in the trash. But I realize that what is important to my parents, may not be important to me. And what is important to me, may not be important to my husband.

My mom and dad are having a great time seeing all these things they've forgotten about, and remembering old friends and other events in their lives.

Life isn't always about throwing away the old for the new.