More sifting

I started going through things at 8 am and didn't stop until Carol picked me up to go to a ball game at about 6:00 pm....where did all of this come from?! It's also a matter of re-arranging. It feels like those little plastic puzzles with the squares you have to shift around so you can get the piece in the right position. More purging in the attic which made room for things from the bedroom....picked out a few sweaters, jeans, jackets, hats etc. to put in a rubbermaid bin to leave here. The rest went to goodwill. Then we started on John"s closet and did the same. Sorted through a few more books too. The big bookcase in the bedroom is looking barren. This is such an interesting process...slowly things are going away, then we will follow. It's a slow transition.
When I first got clean, I had absolutely nothing-not a plate, towel, bowl, pan..nada. The kids and I had a dumpster route. Little by little we acquired the basics then added on extras. As the years and our income increased, more "things" came our way. Then the bulk was increased by gifts from friends, cards, letters ( I'm dating myself! Who writes letters anymore?), awards, school work, photos! I had none when I got here- now I don't even know how many albums and discs full we have in addition to an under the bed rubbermaid container.
As I sift through all of it, I am struck by the question "what have I saved this for?" More importantly, WHO have I saved it for? I have the memories so why do I require a phsical reminder? In particular, the photos. If-when-John and I are gone, a lot of these pictures will mean nothing to our kids. They won't know who these people were. This mess would be left to our kids and in a time when they were already burdened, they would have more to deal with. It hinders me, binds me, keeps me busy with it's upkeep and confines me with it's bulk. I can't move forward because it keeps me immobilized.
What does one really need. All of these objects are not needed. We will need a minimum amount of clothing, basic household items which are already there, a few books, music and an atlas. The latter serving merely as a guide to the general path we will follow but when unincumbered by rooms full of clutter, who knows where the road will really lead us.

next step

It's been a long somewhat painful process but it's done. I announced at mentor group Friday all of the staff changes. As we all sat at our table in front of 50 plus clients-past and present- It felt like during the Rose Festival when the news announces each night which high school voted in their princess, then they crown the queen and eventually the Royal Rosarian court is complete. Then I told them" this is my court". "David is your new supervisor" to which he replied "no, I'm the princess from Grant". If you know David, you understand why that was so funny. Torrence is the weekend mentor, Bruce is on swing and Lynda Williams from HRR will mentor the women. I think it's a wonderful team and I think the clients all feel better knowing what it's going to look like. They are already familiar with these folks. It was very emotional. The mentor program means a lot to me and I feel good about leaving it in these capable hands.

Test drive

Here we go! Gonna start getting the hang of this now before we actually leave. I've started going through all our stuff. Weeding out and paring down. I think the reality of it is hitting the kids. Had to have our daughter come over and go through the attic with me to see what she wanted to keep and what she wanted to let go. Our house has been the repositiory,"base", the safe zone, the place to go for whatever you need. If we had sold the house it would have been a really difficult transition, this way it's more of a shift.