Preparing for a move has been very motivational, especially when it comes to purging the stuff in our house so that someone else can live here. All of the skeletons have to go, the secret hiding places won’t be secret any more. That reminds me of one time when I showed my friend Karen a room in my house filled with storage and I called it my “dirty little secret.” Her daughter, who was probably around 7, went home and told her father that I have a dirty little secret. Maybe that’s how my reputation got started. 🙂
Out of necessity, my rule these days is that everything in our home has to have a place to live. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re headed in the right direction. The kids are constantly trying to bring something else home and I always ask them, “Where is it going to live?” In the next 2 months I will have to stay tough on this, or our house will never be in shape for our departure.
One of the difficulties I encountered during last week’s sorting and purging was the vast amount of gifts that we’ve received over the years; there was an emotional attachment that went beyond the rest of the stuff. Many of these gifts have been used and enjoyed and made it through the purge, but there were others that really got me thinking about the whole idea of giving and receiving.
At the bottom of the bin of VCR tapes, I found a boxed set of PeeWee’s Playhouse – the entire series. I remember my father asking what I wanted for Christmas that year, and that’s what I put on my list. I REALLY loved that show (“LET’S SEE HOW BIG MY FOIL BALL IS TODAY!”), and I was excited to receive the gift. But the majority of the VCR tapes were still wrapped in plastic – never watched. For over 20 years, that boxed set has been taking up space in my house. It probably cost a hundred bucks “back in the day.” It was a possession that I owned, but didn’t use and enjoy, and now PeeWee has left the building. Maybe he is at someone else’s house now, or maybe nobody at the school yard sale was a fan.
I hate to waste anything – food, time, effort, water, paper, money. But when Christmas rolled around, the old me would buy my kids lots of stuff, because that’s what makes them happy. But then some of the stuff has nowhere to live and becomes a liability, a responsibility. I could spend my entire life picking up stuff and moving it back to where it belongs. I own some things that bring me joy, but I usually can’t see them because of the other stuff.
I recently received an invitation to my 1YO nephew’s birthday, and it requested that we bring no gifts, saying something like, “our lives are full enough.” My grandmother used to say, “If I can’t eat it, read it, or wear it, I don’t want it.” Bravo (although I would add “drink it” to the list)! I respect these positions. Although I appreciate all of the gifts we’ve received, nobody in my family needs anything. We’re hard-pressed to even think of something we want. For anyone planning to give us a gift from here on out, I would love to receive the gift of your presence – to spend time with you, go on an outing, or have a meal together. And if I don’t send you a gift for every holiday, it doesn’t mean that I don’t love you. We all have enough.
For Christmas 2015, or should I say – Navidad, we will have friends visiting us in Mexico. There will be gifts, but very few – likely names drawn from a hat and some stocking stuffers. Will the kids be disappointed? Will they think it’s the worse Christmas ever? I don’t think so. I hope not. I’ll let you know.