Get Organized: How Wonderful Summer Is

I don't clean.

Let me repeat myself. I do not clean. Ever. But, for you Mr. Allen, I will reluctantly clean out my Camelbak from the summer.

Oh, the Camelbak. This turquoise backpack carried my life, and 2 liters of water at all times this past summer. It was small, but suited my needs. Many an item made its way in and out of it throughout June, July and August, but only a select few items nestled themselves into the bottom and still remain. And because I NEVER clean, it has been sitting in the corner of my bedroom ever since school started.

Little did I know when I started this project that it would bring back a plethora of memories that made my heart ache horribly.

I started at the side pockets, otherwise known as the cup holders that no one ever uses to hold cups. I found two pairs of sunglasses, both broken. Somehow I managed to break these even when I had them hanging around my neck all summer; it's a special skill. That was a frustrating find. Along with those, I found 90% deet bug spray, band aid wrappers, red, white and blue beaded necklaces, a Twix wrapper labeled in all French, and a list of songs we repeatedly listened to on our way to Canada. I laughed as I encountered each of these items. I didn't use one drop of the bug spray all summer because I love getting bitten by mosquitos, which resulted in the use of multiple band aids because of how much scratching I was doing. The red, white and blue beaded necklaces were from the 4th of July, and I had to take them off to jump in the lake. I was hungry when I bought the Twix, and as for the list of songs, each of them are constantly on repeat on my iTunes. It's funny how these memories lingered.

I moved onto the small front pocket where I found way to many hairbands, tons of Canadian coins and about ten packs of saltine crackers, crunched and crinkled. The crackers made me giggle. Camp served crackers along with chili one day at lunch, and my friend and I hoarded them because we wanted to go back to the cabin and see who could eat them in under two minutes. It was always a funny way to distract ourselves from the heat.

Finally, I tackled the main pocket. I found two journals, one was labeled "Summer 2011," and the other "Summer 2012." I set them down on the ground. I reached my hand back in and dug up more saltine crackers, a picture one of my campers had drawn for me, an earring, a Walmart receipt, starburst wrappers, and something sticky. The receipt said I had bought an AW Trunk and a 2 pack of boxers. I don't know what the AW Trunk is but I definitely bought the boxers. How could I not? They were so comfortable, and cute. The picture my camper drew was sweet, but horribly out of proportion and the starburst wrappers were from the candy we snuck into our cabin.

I moved on to the best part of this little adventure: the journals. I remembered writing in the Summer 2011 journal like it was yesterday, but the Summer 2012 journal slipped my mind. It could've been empty for all I had known. I opened it, expecting a blank page, but instead I came across this passage, probably from the last night on our trip to the Georgian Bay.

I itch. I itch all over and I can't lay still. It's not only my mind that is fleeting, it's my soul. The stars were mocking all of us tonight. We laid out just to look at them but we couldn't help but feel them too; we tried to reach for them. We laughed, sang, talked, realized we smelled like shit, and then slowly retreated back to our tents. We all thought the same thing. If only this could last forever. But just like the stars only seem bright because they lay on a backdrop of a dark night, so do days like these. We must experience those days full of tears and pain before ones like these come along. Then we appreciate them. I hurt with happiness. I won't sleep tonight, or the one after that. I can only smile. How wonderful life is.  

I sighed and shut the journal.

So, now as I type this, the floor of my bedroom is cover in wrappers and crackers, sunglasses and pictures and journals and hairbands; my bedroom floor is covered with my summer. And what am I going to do with it? I think I'll return it all where it belongs. It was a pleasant surprise finding these things, and I'd like for it to happen again in the future. The sunglasses should go back in the side pocket, and the journals should slip back to where they were before. And I'll put my Camelbak back in  the corner of the room to collect dust once again. It is autumn and unfortunately, summer is months away. This stuff is the gold of my summer. Every once and awhile I discover it and feel rich with memories. And every time I find it, it reminds me that I don't have to wait until June to relive my summer again. But oh, how wonderful summer is.