Moody Monday

Well, everyone was back at school and work today, and I was back at work, alone in my workroom. It was nice to have quiet, but I also kind of missed everyone. I don't know why but I am feeling nostalgic and missing my friends and family who are far away.

I got some photos of my brother and his wife and kids that live in Christchurch, NZ. and one of my oldest and best friends posted some photos from the 80's on facebook. I really felt the distance of time and place but I am also glad that we are the kind of people that stay close even though our lives are happening separately.

I called my friend and she was sad. She said I must be psychic since she needed to talk. She is just going through a rough patch right now. I was glad that I was there for her but I hung up feeling sad and worried. I started thinking again that all of our lives are stories even if we don't see the plot. Some are tragic, some are glamorous, all have their ups and downs.

It is hard when we are in the thick of it to see the bigger picture, but I think it helps. It helps to have some perspective and to know that all the bits together make up the richness of the story.

My sister Peggy got cancer and died young. We all thought this was wrong and went against nature, fate, all meaning, understanding, and life itself. I still think it was a tragedy and it was, at least in part, the result of human negligence. But now, when I think of her life in its entirety and of the legacy that continues in her spirit, I think that she has an amazing story. I will write it and post it nearer to her birthday in March.

I think about Proust all the time who supposedly drew huge amount of time out of seconds by focusing on details, by being in the moment, by not taking anything for granted. There is a great book called "How Proust Can Change Your Life". I highly recommend it!

Cleaning

If anyone out there has been reading this blog since the beginning, you will know that I was doing a deep cleaning of my house back in July. Well, I am still trying to deal with the dregs of that. I have several issues that cause my surroundings to be overly cluttered.

One is that I love little, cute things. I collect them even though they are pretty much useless. They are fun to look at but not when they are piled in a heap. They don't get used so they never get used up so it is hard to throw them away.

Two is that I don't like to "waste" things. This translates to never throw anything away. I have boxes of clothes, books, toys, art supplies, etc. that I don't want to even give to the goodwill because I am sure that one of my friends or family members could use. Or maybe we will need it then have to go buy more. Isn't it Murphy's Law that if you get rid of something you will need it the next day?

The other reason is that I am sentimental and I want to keep souvenirs and mementos. I have boxes of baby clothes, art projects, toys, photos, scraps of fabric, postcards, that have some historic significance to me.

At what point do I say, I can't house these things anymore! I have a life in the present that is getting bogged down by the stuff of the past! What is the limit on amount of things that can be stored and saved? I am sure I have exceeded it.

I am trying to go through it all reasonably. It is taking a long time because it is the last thing I ever want to do. I am making progress and the best thing is that I have really really cut back on intake. I only buy what we absolutely need and whenever something comes into the house, something has to go out.

Maybe when I have truly completed the purge, I will look forward and realize we have all moved into a new phase of our lives. I think that is kind of happening anyway.

Speaking of cleaning, look at this great thing that I found on etsy (the photo at the top). It is so much better than using those stinky paper ones and throwing them away. It is from a company in Tucson called Ollies Boutique.