Letter from the Executive Director: March 20, 2025

The following message appeared in the March 20, 2025, edition of the Alumni Association’s Echoes e-newsletter.

Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends,

I don’t know about you, but I have a love-hate relationship with spring cleaning. I love the annual opportunity to refresh the house, clear out unwanted clutter, and move into the warmer months with less home-related stress. Hate is, perhaps, too strong a word, but spring cleaning can veer into uncomfortable territory when that clear-out presents me with tough decisions.

Like a few weeks ago, when I came across a couple of tattered bath towels in the back of a linen closet and had to ask myself whether or not I should keep them. It’s not that the towels themselves were remarkable, but they meant something to me because they’d been a wedding gift from a dear former coworker. There were other things like this, too: the poorly designed state track t-shirts from high school, others from my years at Notre Dame. I just couldn’t part with any of them.

No matter how much the idea of a completely decluttered space may appeal to me, I’ve come to accept that there will always be things I simply cannot let go of. Many of us have no shortage of “stuff,” yet I’m fascinated by the things we keep and why we keep them. I’d love to know: what are your “wedding towels,” those small but cherished things you’ll hold onto forever?

All the best,

Dolly Duffy ’84
Executive Director
Notre Dame Alumni Association