“Can we play in the attic” came the cry from upstairs, “why” I said, “we just want to play hide and go seek”

Well, I can think of better places to play it, but if they really wanted to, just for a peaceful life, “okay, but don’t make a mess”.

Thinking of what the four youngsters could find up there got me thinking, of the ‘mess’ which desperately needed ‘sorting out’. The fear, also, that the odd foot might suddenly poke its way through to a bedroom ceiling below, did not make me feel any easier about my decision.

The attic which holds onto all our past memories, was about to be invaded. Boxes with labels on such as “Dad’s rubbish”, “Conservatory odds ‘n’ ends”, “Emily’s Bedroom”, could reveal all sorts of stories. My wife will always ask me to bring down the black sack with ‘x’ in it, and as I turn around in the attic, twenty or so, black refuse sacks, seem to turn and shout at me “it’s me, it’s me”.

So, it’s confusing all the “stuff” we keep in our attic’s, I liken it a bit like my own mind, where there are so many important things to remember, and store carefully away, to be retrieved at a moments notice. Birthday’s, anniversaries, where did I put Ashley’s homework, when I tied up etc, have to be all easily accessible, to be able to give a prompt answer.

Many of you will know that I have a little problem when it comes to my short term memory, that just trying to add a name to a face can cause so many problems, but ask me where my grandmother kept her ’wash day’ boiler, I can, in my minds eye, pin point it in her kitchen.

I need a mind-map to try and retrieve these answers, or perhaps one of those satellite navigation systems, with their strange Anglo-American voices, calmly telling you which turn to take. Then it struck me, God is my calm voice, guiding me with instructions, on my daily journeys, only sometimes, I like to think that I’m better than the voice, and try to make a decision without him, so my mind has become cluttered with black sacks full of wrong trips and bad memories. Time for a clean-up.

paul.akerman@surf.co.nz