Some days I feel incredibly energized, and then a bit later I am down in the dumps, & I wonder if something is wrong.   Meanwhile a stack of boxes teeter in the living room.

Each day I look around the house.  The Knick-knacks are being checked, deciding if they have positive memories.  If not they go into a box.  If  the memory is positive I decide to keep it or share it.  The gadgets and gizmos we all have, I decide if I have used them recently or at least have a regular use for them.  No? Into the a box.

The cookie cutters I only use once a year. Yet the green Christmas trees with the non-parels, the yellow stars dusted with sugar, make me very happy. I smile seeing the cutters, in 6 months I’ll use them again.  But the cast iron corn-cob-cornbread pan?  The wok? I haven’t used them in a long time, into the box of Kitchen stuff.

Thus it has been for just over a month.  Other than trash, nothing is being thrown out.  The kitchen box once it was full, I listed it on Freecycle, within 3 days someone picked it up off my porch.  Same with pillows, blankets, even shampoos.  Currently working on filling the newest knick-knack box and office product box.   When they are full, back to Freecycle.

All this purging is emotional.  For years, one of my bedroom walls has been home to a wall covering of a tiger, a latch kit made by my then best friend.  Distance separated us so we don’t talk much anymore.  The tiger still means a lot, but after sitting with it, I realized it was time to let it go.

So I wrapped it up, gave it to my nephew on his graduation. “This was a gift made for me when I graduated, now 19 years later I give it to you,” was the note I wrote.  He ripped into the package, and almost cried when he saw it.  He loved it on my wall, didn’t know I got it when I graduated, now it was his.  He asked if I was sure, his mom, my now best friend asked as well. But it was time to let it go…

And thus with a friend who is very negative.  Something is always wrong, I decided to let her out of my life.  Suddenly I have a new friend, from my youth group years ago.  She’s grown up, positive and great to hang around.

Sunday I decided I was ok with having to let go of my church after just starting to attend again.  She left for the same reason I did, politics, bad politics.  It’s not quitting, it’s not getting rid of, but sometimes things change and sometimes you must let go…  so what do you need to let go of????  And what if letting go means getting something better?

~MJ