Sunday, November 03, 2013

Grown-up Part Deux

I've been packing my house for about 5 months.  Yes, I know that seems like an inordinately long time to pack a house, but the work has been done in spurts.  I can't just plow through a room and get it entirely done in one fell swoop (or, as my family says, one swell foop).  There has been too much stuff and sometimes too many memories.  I'm lucky, in a way, to have had this extra time to take my time going through things.  Well, I'm trying to look on the bright side, right?  I mean, it would have been nice to have gotten a new job right away, sold the house quickly and been packed and moved and settled somewhere by now . . . but that's not what happened so I'm making lemonade, you know?

So all these months I've had the constant question - should I keep this, sell it, trash it or give it away?  Thousands of times I've had to answer the same question about a knick knack, a keepsake, a childhood toy (bunny carts!) an antique, my yarn stash! 




I've gotten a lot done and the house is looking pretty good (wanna buy a house?).  But there have been some things I haven't even questioned.  This is where the Camp Snoopy and Muppet Caper glasses come into the conversation.  My sister was over yesterday and suggested that it's high time I got myself a set of grown-up glasses, the kind that all match and even match my dishes, the kind that don't (!) have Licensed Characters on them. 

"Whaaa???  But . . . but . . . I bought these when I was in High School . . . with my babysitting and clarinet lesson money!  I love these glasses!  They're heirlooms!"

"Weren't they basically freebies to advertise for the movies?  For kids?"

"Yes!  They're cool!"

She just shook her head, drank her juice from the sheep glass and came back in to continue playing Lego Batman with me on the Wii.  She's such a grown-up.

Sigh.

You all think they're cool too, right?  Right?

3 comments:

Bob Hale said...

When I had to pack up and leave I was heading for China. Everything had to go. My entire possessions no amount to a one metre storage cube back in England and a couple of suitcases here in Baiyin. My decisions were reduced to "give away" and "throw away". It's really rather liberating to stand in the yard with an ax and a very large hammer and smash up all your furniture so that it can be thrown out.

Laura said...

Well, I don't know... You know I'm de-cluttering too. But here's the thing - I want to keep the stuff that makes me smile and that is also useful. Makes it hard sometimes. But if keeping a licensed-character glass saves me from buying something else, why not?

Cat Herself said...

Bob, I've thought about your move several times while I've been doing this. I don't know if I can do what you've done . . . but I might end up trying! Never know where I'll end up! Even moving across the country would mean getting rid of many things that currently take up space here. I can only imagine how expensive a moving truck will cost that will take my entire household to the West Coast.