Are We There Yet?

The perennial question asked for decades (if not longer!) "Are we there yet?" That is what everyone has been asking us lately.

Yes, we are "there." And we are here, as well. (Cue the Beatles: Here, There, and Everywhere.)

It feels like Finals Week, although I haven't been to school in many, MANY years. Working two (part-time) jobs, moving, cleaning, trying to figure out where to fit everything that seems like a "need" into the trailer... It's exhausting, and I have been complaining, probably more than necessary.

The tough questions now begin: How many sets of sheets and towels, how many forks, knives and spoons, how many (fill in the blank) do two people really need? Because, there is room only for so much - even in 300 square feet. I decidedly am not Imelda Marcos (infamous for her 3,000+ pairs of shoes, for those too young to recognize the reference to Philippines' First Lady, whose husband's regime was overthrown in 1986 due to corruption and dishonesty), but it is still somewhat of a challenge to corral even my measly collection.

As tired and sore as I am from climbing up and down a stepladder to scrub cabinets and cupboards, I think the real work begins now, as we begin to make hard decisions about what to toss and what to keep - and where to put what we keep. Another go 'round is decidedly in store for us after this first one, and that's where the emotional choices will begin as we sort through hand knit sweaters that no longer fit, hand made doll furniture, hand crocheted doilies made by great-grandmothers and aunts long passed, fishing lures that are no longer legal, skis that are out of style. (You get the picture.)

I don't want to say I come from a family of hoarders - because I have seen a true hoarder's home - but it would not be a stretch to say I come from a family of collectors, and savers. (Yes, there is a difference!) After all, my grandparents came though the Great Depression, so saving things because you might need them one day is kind of ingrained into my DNA. But I am learning, slowly but surely: If I don't need it now, I don't need to save it for later. And if mysteriously a need does arise, then I will figure it out at that time. Bottom line: it makes zero sense to pay to store something that costs less than $20 and can easily be replaced or "made do" without, "just in case."

I'm getting there.