Maybe He Was Right

Dennis used to say that one day I would bring home a load of stuff and the house would sink right into the ground.  That was his way of saying I bought too much.  He'd never tell me I couldn't but he'd quietly let me know I was possibly overdoing it.  After carting boxload after boxload of stuff to the Salvation Army, roadside for garbage pick-up, and to the apartment, I'm finally getting the idea that maybe he knew what he was talking about.

I understand that all the mess crowding out my living space is stuff that used to be shut away in closets and drawers but it really seems that I've accumulated way too much over the years.  It was easy to get rid of a lot but there's just too much I want to keep.  Sooner or later, in the next few weeks, I'm definitely going to have to give up some of the treasured stuff and I'm not looking forward to that.

I've seen retirement homes where the retiree has only one room to hold his/her treasures of a lifetime and it's kind of sad to see how crowded it is.  Every personal treasure has a meaning for us and discarding it is like cutting off a limb.  A little trinket might hold a memory too special to let go.  A piece of furniture might have come from a long dead but dearly loved relative.  A yellowed letter might have been written to us by someone very special.  These are the possessions most difficult to toss away.

I've been storing old photographs and Dennis' award plaques for years just because they would be impossible to throw away but my girls have kindly offered to take them for me.  It's a proper rite of passage.

My new chest of drawers is being delivered to the apartment today and I'll also stop at a store to look at desks.  The one I had already bought won't be available until the end of September and that's just too late for me so I cancelled the order.  It's so freeing to know I'll have the money coming in Aug. 1st for the house and don't have to count my pennies when shopping for these few pieces of furniture.  I could never go wild and overspend, though, because it's not in my nature.

And so, today, another load leaves my house for the apartment. I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to see some empty spaces here.