Hi Everyone,
This is going to have to be short today. There is a long list of To Do’s waiting on me. The whole week has been that way. Every single day has been full of different appointments to rush to and fro from. We are worn out and still not done. Monday is our last scheduled appointment…I think. Somewhere soon I have a bone density test, but can’t find it on my calendar at the moment. Not good.
I finally got a beginning sketch for the commissioned drawing done. It will be after Christmas before I can show you the final piece because it is a present and I bet that someone will recognize the little guy, so I have to keep it under wraps. I am very much looking forward to putting a pencil to paper again. I now have two logos that need to get done as well and my usual work is pretty busy. I was up at 4 am working Wednesday morning. If you can’t sleep, work.
What is weighing on my mind this week is how to get back to simple. I have been downsizing and cleaning out stuff for 5 years now. Every time I think I am close to getting where I want to be someone else’s stuff moves in on me. Yes, I still have some of my own to part with, but most of it has been in storage for a kid or two. Now, I have 4 generations of stuff to work through. We have formulated a plan. Wish us luck.
For those of you who have not heard, my son is moving to Hawaii in December. Yes, it is a real paying job he is going over there for. People keep asking me if he is going to get a real job. Yes, it involves an ocean, kayak, whales and probably a surf board, but he is actually getting paid to do such things and even gets real work benefits. Are you green with envy yet??
What I admire about my son is his ability to walk very lightly on this earth. He will be moving to the other side of the country with only what he can carry in his camping backpack and his school backpack. That’s it. Even as a small child he rarely had more than one item on his Christmas list. He is not a collector of STUFF. He collects experiences.
My daughter and son-in-law have been working to minimize their STUFF as well. I think their generation has seen the error of our ways and do not want to burden themselves with the cost of STUFF in real money and in environmental impact. Do some research on just how much clothing alone goes into our landfills here in the U.S.
D. and I are both people who crave a very simple lifestyle. We admire the Shakers and Amish in their simplicity and the beauty of that simplicity. Clean lines in furniture and have only what you need. We are far from that right now, but as we go through this experience of distributing a bazillion things we are more sure than ever that we do not want our legacy to be STUFF. We do not want to leave such a burden on our children.
I can tell you that I am now analyzing every single item that I own and will be letting go of things that I have held onto only because it is connected to a memory. Things DO NOT hold memories. PEOPLE hold memories. I can look around me and see THINGS that I do not truly love for what they are but just because they are a connection to my past. THINGS that if I were to see them in a store, I would walk right by them. No more. They have to go. They are taking up valuable real estate in our home that could either be open, airy, peaceful space of its own or hold something that I truly do love for its beauty and/or usefulness.
I hope that in some way I have influenced my kids in their simplicity. I don’t think their lives were filled with an overabundance of stuff growing up and I showed them how to regularly clear out their belongings. Now I have a young lady that needs, more than most, to have this example and instruction given to her. What happens in her future I have no way of knowing, but I do know that D. and I are committed to showing her a simpler, more peaceful and more financially sane way to live. Sometimes life provides you with an unforeseen way to accomplish your goals!
Have a great week and keep it simple!
Photo credit
Pencils, Paint & Paper 