Winter projects

We have been in the midst of moving.

For months I have been culling our stuff.

So much stuff.

Stuff piles up.

Stuff clutters our homes and our lives.

Stuff takes up space.

Some stuff likes to be ignored as it sits quietly in dark corners of the basement.

But moving time provides a good chance to face the piles and get rid of the stuff no longer needed.  And so we are. 

I tackled my archives.  

So many bins filled with so many sheets of paper.

Notes from courses taken.

Lesson plans for courses taught.

I sorted and pitched.

I recycled reams of paper.

But I also began to discover patterns.

Stories about who I had been decades ago.

Stories that disclosed that I wasn’t always right.

Stories of lessons learned.

Health and healing and transformation.

I found fresh appreciation for my life.

I suddenly realized the great privilege before me.

This huge task gradually shifted its very shape.

Yes, it was still something that I’ve “got to do.”

But… it also showed itself as something I GET to do. 

Who gets this kind of gift?

Who gets to sit down in retirement years and read through one’s own history?  This is the stuff of my life. My heritage.

Who gets to pause and sift through the memories and celebrate one’s own life?

Who gets to assess one’s direction while there’s still time to make changes?

A few file boxes were selected.

These few DID make the move with me.

However they will not be hauled to THIS basement.

They will not be forgotten again.

Instead they are sitting right here so I can see them every day.  

I often pause to greet them.

I look forward to sitting down together for the read of a lifetime.  

I daydream about writing projects that will come together. 

Any number of topics wait for me to glean those memories.

But first some precious time to read.

To remember and to marvel.

What a fun project for this next season!