Things

During the past two days we held a garage sale. 

We took in over five hundred dollars.
The photo above shows what remains to be donated after the sale.

People today own a lot of stuff.

What makes us want to accumulate so much?  When I was growing up I don't think there were climate-controlled storage units and container stores in every town.  When did we get to be a society that collects things and even hoards things?

When and why did things become so important?

Why do I feel so much better today, knowing that so much extra stuff is gone from my house?

Why do I feel cleansed after clearing out some clutter?

Oh, those profound life questions! 

I know for myself I grew up in the post-war era of the fifties when my parent's goal seemed to be giving my brothers and myself everything possible.  It was an admirable goal and a logical one from people who grew up during the Great Depression.  My mother was also a person who found joy in chronicling our life journey in photographs and with memorabilia, so not only did we acquire many things, we also kept every bit of history that we could, including napkins from our birthday parties and programs from dance recitals.

It was logical then, that when I was old enough to think for myself, I also wanted to acquire things and maintain the history.  I now have several collections and many many scrapbooks and photo albums.  Along with many Americans I also have rooms in my house that are not being used and numerous things that soon become redundant and irrelevant or are replaced due to the need for newer things and more innovative technology.

Now that I am in that magical medicare year--the year I turn 65--"things" are losing their appeal and relationships are by far the more important aspect of my life.  Thus, selling things the past few days was emotionally freeing and exquisitely exciting.  Well, perhaps I exaggerate, but my point is, I am glad that I am no longer attached to things in the same way I used to be, and I encourage you too, no matter what your age, to find more pleasure and satisfaction in people and relationships than in the things that money buys. 

The garage sale was only a step in the right direction for me.  I hope to continue to go through the things I have accumulated and keep clearing the clutter.  As I do so, I find satisfaction in the lessons learned along the journey.  Whether I have the answers to life's great questions or not, I am glad that I have learned that...

...the best things in life aren't things.

From a stitchery that hangs in my hallway:

My house is filled with objects dear

And memories of yesteryear

But treasured even more than these

Is love of friends and family

Home

I have a son who for years has performed the role of a grammar cop in my life.  In fact, I know if he reads this blog he probably won't like that first sentence, and any errors in language usage or punctuation will stick out at him with such intensity he will have difficulty even reading the context of my message.  One mistake I have made over the years, according to him, is my usage of the words house and home.

I apparently used them interchangeably for many years even though I know that house describes a building, but home describes so much more...

The building pictured above has been my home for many years now.  We moved our family of five into this house in 1987 and two years later we added one more member of the family when our fourth child was born.  The house is home now to only two of us--Hubby and me.

Fortunately two of our adult children and a little granddaughter live very nearby so the house echoes with sounds of life often.  We also have part of the greatest generation that live nearby and when my mother and aunts visit, four generations are present all at once.  All of us gathered around the table for a holiday meal is when I know that my house is most certainly a home.

On rare occasions even more of the family makes their way to our home.  And so it is with great anticipation I look forward to my daughter's wedding next month when several people will be gathering in my house before and after the nuptial event.  I can hardly wait for brothers and cousins and nieces and nephews and friends from afar to enter our lives for a few days and make more memories.  I can't wait for the grammar cop to fly halfway around the world and come home again for a few days.  I relish the hugs I will feel as people enter and the laughter and love that will be shared once we are all gathered together.

Our house, as you can see from the photograph, is just a modest American home that has decreased in value in recent years.  Fortunately the value of the house has nothing to do with the value of the home.  The relationships that have grown and the personalities that were nurtured in our home all remain, and are priceless.  Those who grew up in this house are now dynamic, contributing, intelligent residents of the world and have established homes of their own.  And Hubby and I only live here half of the year as we have found a little house in Florida can also be a marvelous home.

Personalities and opinions will soon be flowing through the rooms of this house and memories are just waiting to be made.  I wait with anticipation for those hours we will all share in this wonderful, simple, loving home of mine.