Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, brother-in-law, sleeping in my childhood bedroom. So my mom has me cleaning my room, including drawers that haven't been touched since the last time my mom made me clean the room before I left for college. Six and a half years ago.

It's weird how objects can truly contain memories. The sight of an old white purse instantly made me think of the day my mom bought it for me. We were at the flea market visiting my dad, who's hobby at the time was selling *random items* (imported from China, of course) on the weekends. Apparently being an aerospace engineer just wasn't enough. I remember we spent quite a long time going to different stands comparing prices and in the end my mom bargained with the guy, because she wasn't just buying one purse, she was buying two (a gold one for my sister). When I was little I used to get embarrassed by my mom's bargaining tactics, but now that I'm older I just wish I had her skills. Anyway, seeing the purse made me think back on this day, at least fifteen years ago, as though it were yesterday.

And how about items that represent repressed memories? I threw out a bunch of SAT study aids tonight. SAT study aids. I also found the results to a diagnostic I had forgotten that I took.

The funny thing about trying to clean my room with my mom is that since she counsels little kids now, and they're mostly kids on Medi-Cal (which means they've had some pretty harsh lives) she wants to save every little cute trinket or stuffed animal that looks brand new (because my sister and I had way too many of them). I think it's because she uses a lot of play therapy with her kids and quite often the kids ask her if they can have the toys and who can say no to a kid who's never had enough of anything in his/her life? So she's always looking for new toys to bring into the office.

Tonight I pulled a stuffed bat out of a drawer.

Me: "Look, a bat."

Mom (very seriously): "Oh, I need that."

It was as though a stuffed bat was exactly the toy she had in mind for a particular activity or something.