"Don't throw that away!"

More conversations with my mother.

"Hey Mom, where can I find the cold medicine?" My parents moved to a new house a couple of years ago and I still don't know where to find everything.

In the kitchen, my mom points to one of the cabinets. "Check in the box in there."

After pulling out some items from the cabinet such as a coffee thermos and an oversized bottle of acetaminophen I come across a box full of orphaned cold medicine packets and half used bottles of this and that. After settling on some Advil Cold and Sinus, I check out an old looking bottle of Cloreseptic.

"Hey, this expired in 1992. Can I throw it away?"

"Throw it away!"

I root around the box some more and discover a bottle of calcium tablets. "Hey, this expired in 1984. Can I throw it away?"

"Throw it away!"

Going through this box has been like a time capsule of pharmaceuticals that my family has taken over the last twenty years. I feel like an archaeologist as I unearth a bottle wrapped up in an open ziplock bag. "Hey, this expired in 1990. Can I throw it away?"

"Don't throw that away!"

No logic whatsoever.