At some point in my minimalist journey, I got to the point of minimizing photos. I would not recommend such a sentimental category for a novice minimalist. This is a group to save for towards the end of your decluttering journey. 

I decided to carefully curate an album of 200 photographs that I call my “Greatest Hits” album. These are my best and happiest memories from my life. At the time, my thinking was that if I am in a nursing home or some sort of care facility at the end of my life, I would enjoy having this one photo album of all my precious memories.

My Greatest Hits album has so far been an excellent idea. Sometimes it’s nice to look at when I am feeling down. I no longer worry about printing photos or deleting photos. I know I have the very best of my collection in my Greatest Hits album. 

Now, with the Act 2 in this title, I am in no way about to go all maximalist and start a second Greatest Hits photo album. I do not need an additional 200 photos (for a total of 400) to tell my life story. That is not what Act 2 means. 

When I curated the Greatest Hits album, I had bought my first house. After a history of childhood (and adult) homelessness, I never thought I would be a homeowner. Purchasing my first home was such a relief. I remember saying, “we will never be homeless again.” I felt settled. I had all this in mind when I curated my Greatest Hits album. I had thought that the best of my life was behind me. I was biding time.

I had no way of knowing what was in store for me with the daily neighbor harassment and abuse that caused us to flee that house and relocate to the opposite side of the state for safety. 

However, that is what happened. We sold the house in the Village of Horrors, and I bought a different house. Never in my life would I have ever thought I would be able to sell and house and purchase a new one. It’s honestly not an experience I ever want to go through again. Although, the entire move was exacerbated by our physical injuries and the threats from the neighbors. 

This is where my Act 2 comes in. I feel like we have a new lease on life. It’s a kind of awakening being in a brand-new place trying to find your footing. 

Sitting in our new house now that we are safe from neighbor abuse, I was looking at the Greatest Hits album and realized three things:

1. Flower was not in the Greatest Hits album. Flower is a family member. There are five cats that I rescued from the dog fighting ring who were not in there. They needed to be remembered too.
2. I did not want anything in the Greatest Hits album from the House of Horrors that I had to sell to get away from the abusive neighbors. That chapter of life was so traumatizing and evil. I don’t want any reminders.
3. Life isn’t over. We still have Greatest Hits happening and things to come. I’m not stagnant anymore because I am no longer paralyzed by abuse. I’m no longer physically blocked from leaving my home and prevented from living my life. We still have another decade ahead of us.

Put together, all of this means I needed to curate my Greatest Hits album to include my Act 2. What this looks like:

1. Previously, each cat (Kitty, Kip, Jude, Simon, and Jolene) had 20 photos each. Now, each cat has 16 photos each, and Flower is included. For the cats I rescued from the dog fighting ring, they have a little folder with photos of each of them. They are not in the Greatest Hits album, but their small folder is beside the Greatest Hits album. So yes, I guess I did expand beyond the 200 photos a little. 
2. When I curated the photos, I looked for any photos taken in the House of Horrors and tried to replace it with a photo from somewhere else. I could not do that with all of them. Jude never made it to the new house. But I tried to make sure that there are only the very best photos of Jude, and the focus is obviously on him and not the fact he was in the House of Horrors (the same for Simon and Jolene).  I do have photos of Jude and Simon in the apartment before we moved into the House of Horrors that helped too.
3. I had to add photos of Radar and the new house. We still have a lot of new things to see, so it’s possible the Greatest Hits album will need to be curated again sometime.

While I did not go all maximalist and add an entire second album of 200 photos, there is a small envelope of about 10 photos of the 5 cats I saved from the dog fighting ring that can be tucked into the Greatest Hits album. Four of the five were adopted into loving homes. One had to be euthanized from their injuries. They all need to be remembered. 

All this made me realize that the Greatest Hits album is not some stagnant thing. It’s a living documentary of the best times of our lives, and we are still adding to it. We may only have another decade together, but I am hoping for the sweetest decade to come. 

If you are interested, the photo on the cover of our Greatest Hits album is Fenway Park. Fenway Park is one of my two most favorite places in the entire country. I’ve always said that “Heaven looks like Fenway Park.” This is especially true when Fenway is at sunset. The view is downright stunning.

Of my six cats deceased and living, the first cat who passed away was Kip. Kip used to love to cuddle me when watching baseball. The last baseball we watched together before he passed was the 2013 World Series. It was the first time in 95 years that the Red Sox won a World Series at home. The prior World Series wins were done on the road. 

It was a magical time, and Kip was starting to go downhill when we watched it. I remember telling him that “Heaven looks like Fenway Park,” and I truly believe that it does for him. 

So, the cover photo of our Greatest Hits album is Fenway Park. When we are all done and our stories are over, that’s where we will be. 

It’s not over yet. We are still living and getting new photos for our Greatest Hits album. This is Act 2.