Purging…
OH MY GOSH….. I’ve always heard people talk of “cleaning out their house” … or “spring cleaning”…. But never EVER have I cleaned my house the way we cleaned it out today. There were a few tears, opening boxes that hadn’t been opened in years. Stuff from my Grandma, letters from my boyfriend when he was in naval bootcamp, Anders’ receiving blankets from when he was an infant, my high school volleyball sweatshirts, my high school track medals, old rocks from the central pacific shores of California from when I was a teenager…… and old pipe… lol
It was a teeter totter sort of day. Something in one hand, something in the other, which one was the thing going in the bag, which would go out in the dumpster. We had to really huss in the buss this weekend, as we only have the dumpster till tomorrow afternoon I think. Made three trips to the goodwill. Guy looked at me funny. What blows me away is that you get a receipt at the goodwill for a tax write off….. I felt guilty leaving all my stuff just right there on the concrete for the poor guy to sort through. I mean,, you should see how some of those boxes were packed. Legos in with drinking glasses, old cross country ski boots in with the stuffed animals. Awful. But I swear, this house is about 3 tons lighter than it was on Friday. Still a little sad with some of the things I had to part with. But you sit there and say to yourself, (or your husband kindly reminds you that you haven’t used the thing in 10 years) ”Self, just do it.. just chuck it,, you don’t need it, nor will you ever have a use for it in the future. It’s in your past, it will stay in your past, and need I remind you that you are moving forward”….
What was really tough is that Anders has been sick all day. Not puking or anything, but he’s had a high high fever for a couple of days now, and today was his worst day. Running up and down the stairs with boxes in hand, I’d pop in on him and see how he was doing. Feeling his forehead, pumping him with motrin. He looked at me during his 4th bath this afternoon and said,, “Mommy, (while tearful), I just wish I was a different person right now.” “I wish that there was a fairy that could wave her wand and just make me be a different person.” Poor kid. Then there was Maggers, when everytime we’d toss a VERY old toy into a bag for the Goodwill……. out it came with an “I play with that!!!” She’d tootle off onto something else and we’d sneak it right back in the bag or box. Note to self, DO NOT CLEAN OUT YOUR CHILDRENS TOYS WHILE THE CHILDREN ARE PRESENT……. duh.. like I said.. time crunch..
Okay,, off to watch Desperate Housewives… ;c) I’m pooped….
November 10th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Someone’s trash is another person’s treasure. JUST ASK DAD! Hopefully while he’s there for Christmas y’all don’t take a trip to the Goodwill and he come back with a handful of shit you took there. Oh and about the toy bit…sometimes though when you’re cleaning out the kid’s toy box, they’ll grab something in the “throw away” pile and it keeps them occupied for hours. I hope Anders is feeling better….poor boy.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:29 am
You don’t need to feel bad about leaving things at the Goodwill in any sort of disorganized fashion, believe me… I’m ashamed to admit it now but me and a friend of mine used to raid the Goodwill stations out in in Lynnwood, WA really late at night (we were dirt poor at the time, ok?! I know it’s wrong now) …. anyway, so one night we’re rummaging through someone’s old junk only to find a box full (FULL) of excrement, presumably human judging by the size, shape, and smell. We shoved that box over, gagged a few times and opened another – AGAIN, the same thing. All told we found 4 boxes, large enough to fit microwave ovens, full of people poop. Believe me, mixing your legos with your drink ware is a treat compared to some of the crap those people dig though – no pun intended.