Three-year old applesauce

I was rummaging through my pantry last night when I came across four or 5 containers of cinnamon flavored applesauce, two unused containers of squeeze cheese and a Campbell's Supper Bakes box that I swear I've had since I was 19. I couldn't help but get a little nostalgic. Again. I swear, moving has turned me into a sap.

My grandmother started sending me care packages the second I went away to college. In them there were always the same items: clothes detergent, herbal essence shampoo, deodorant, cinnamon applesauce, a can of squeeze cheese, a box of wheat thins and a ferrero rochere chocolates. Over time, my taste for processed cheese expired and I no longer ate the little containers of applesauce, but I couldn't throw them away, either. When I moved last year, I had a whole pantry of applesauce and squeeze cheese. I threw away the expired ones (for some reason, apple sauce can last for two to three years, I've discovered.) and moved the five containers of good ones.

Last night, as I once again packed my pantry, I threw it all away... All the applesauce, the Supper Bake that I meant to make but never did, the Angel Food Cake mix that I got to make a cake for my roommate's 21st birthday two years ago but forgot about it and the half-empty margarhita mix I used for a going away party last spring. I never cook, and so going through my refridgerator was a bit like going through a photo album. Even though it's a little gross, it's a snapshot of what I was doing (and what I was eating) at certain times in my life. But it's time to make a fresh start, in so many ways.

Besides, toting along flavored applesauce through two or three moves is kind of wierd. And gross. At least I know that I'll have more coming in Grandma's next care package. Even if I haven't eaten the stuff since 1999.