Here's the essay I will submit to our paper for the "That's Life" column.
It’s time to clean the clutter out of the basement again. If your basement is anything like mine, it becomes a black hole. Don’t know where to put something? Stash it downstairs. Company coming? Hide the extra junk just out of sight. It has become a jungle below, out of sight, out of mind.
I know I can be a pack rat at times, but I also think the opportune moment has arrived. I am ready to do war against any memory, no matter how sentimental. In a few short weeks I will have a house full of company for my daughter’s graduation. I have to find space down there for a guest bed for my sister and her family.
As I look at all we are getting rid of this time, (this event occurs every few years) I see memories, long with junk that I can't remember getting. How strange it is that stuff seems to multiply down there. Some items, like the ceramic bunny statue, I just shake my head and wonder why we got it in the first place.
There are old vinyl records, probably 30-40 of them stacked in a box, everything from rock and roll to country and Christian pop. Bee Gees, Styx, Amy Grant, Bread. We haven’t even had the record player connected to the receiver in 10-15 years. Why have we kept the albums? I certainly don’t think we want to nail them to a wall like on “Trading Spaces.”
Then there are the children’s games and toys: baby doll beds, old games like Masterpiece and Mousetrap, soccer balls and cleats, softball helmets, puzzles, Barbie pools, and little girls’ dress up clothes. All snapshots of days gone by since all my kids are in their mid to late teens.
We also need to get rid of old sports gear like the skis that are way too long and straight, and the weight machine that was just missing a few bolts and a chain when it was given to us. Never did get those pieces and it has sat gathering dust.
There are books, ranging from old classics we picked up at garage sales that we have never read, to homeschool books, and encyclopedias I had as a child. We have lamps, pictures, and a dresser we bought at another garage sale when we had our first baby almost 20 years ago.
Time to get rid of stuff. Maybe it’s spring. Maybe it’s the transition with a child graduating. Maybe it’s by force due to the coming company. Maybe it’s all of the above. Whatever the full reason, I am ready to tackle the space and reclaim it for civilization.
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3 comments:
i've been doing the same ... forcing myself to get rid of stuff ... some because the girls are growing up. but some b/c of the divorce. different, but hard in a weird kinda way. i don't want to take away my girls memories, and i don't want to take away their daddy. but somethings i really don't want to keep ... and sad that i'm in a place like this ... but so much freedom when i let go ;)
Ame-some dear friends who have gone through something similar had the same feelings—really want to get rid of some things, kids needed to keep others. Some compromises they came up with: got rid of pictures of ex in their photo albums BUT they made an album for the kids to keep with photos of dad. They did get rid of things like the wedding gown and rings–not good memories to pass down. I pray the Lord gives you wisdom as you sort to know what to keep and what to freely give away!
Kerry - I actually wrote something here the other day and hit delete rather than post ;) gotta love it ;)
Thank you for sharing what another has done - this helps. It is so hard. Not only is he a continual part of my childrens lives, but he is woven into 20 years of my life. It's jut not possible to hit delete and he be completely gone, nor do I want it to be so. It brings the girls great comfort to know that daddy and mommy loved each other a lot when they were born - that we once had a marriage and they became a part of that. The pics of them when they were born with mommy and daddy have been, surprisingly, pivotol in their healing.
I like the idea of creating an album for them. It's important to them that we are still a family and were an intact family.
And yes, may the Lord give me great wisdom! Thank you!
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