Transition and Change
(Upstairs Apartment, left)
Change is hard. It's frustrating at times. It's scary. But it's also WONDERFUL !!!
I made a big transition this year and moved to another state. I had to leave my garden (sad face), my huge group of friends, my church home, my parents, my brother and his family, my "familiar!"
But I moved to be closer to my own children and my precious granddaughter. I want her to know me. Simple as that.
How do you make a transition like this?
You make a decision. Then you sell a lot of stuff. You work really hard packing everything. You pray your funds don't run out and you make the best of every situation. Sometimes you even have to find humor in the chaos.
My last blog told you about the preparation before the move. I had a yard sale, packed what I was going to take with me, and donated the rest. It felt good to purge, although I am a long way from getting rid of things I don't really need anymore. I have trouble with sentimentality. I keep things because they were once special to me. I keep things that I THINK are special to my kids. I keep things that I think I might need one day.
In reality, I'm sure I keep things because my THINGS are my "home" now. Just like in my childhood, I seem to move a lot. When I was first on my own, which was at college, my parents moved...again. They joked with me about that (Har Har), but it began my feeling of "misplaced homesickness." I missed a feeling. I missed the things that made our house a home. I felt lost, but I didn't really miss a particular place.
You see, I'd never really had a home as a child. I was a pastor's daughter and we moved about every two years. We lived in "parsonages"--homes that were owned by the churches and provided for the pastor and his family. Believe me, they weren't always nice. Or clean.
My mother collected things too. I tend to think she missed the feeling of "home" also.
So, now my things are my home. They bring a smile to my face, because they are connected to a good memory, a future hope, or a sheer joy. I've collected many things since I've been single again--so these "things" are a source of pride, in a good way. I feel like I'm "okay" because I can make it on my own.
The things I've kept from my former life are things that belonged to me as a child or things that belong to my children--and a few things from my former home that still brings a sense of happiness to me. But as far as my kids, they've wanted very little, with the exception of my daughter who is now a mother, and she's gladly received a few mementos from her childhood to pass down to her daughter.
So, some things I kept have value to them. Other things, I asked them about and they acted as if they had no interest in them. As a matter of fact, I carried around an adorable little dollhouse--complete with furniture and a bunny rabbit family--that she had as a very young girl, until one move and I decided it needed a new home, so it joined the pile of yard sale items.
Of course it sold. I can't imagine I got very much for it. It is the one thing she wishes I'd kept! And I do too, now that I have a grand-daughter. I think I paid about $19 or $20 for it. Maybe $8 for the accessories. They no longer make that particular brand. We looked up the value once and it sold on Ebay for $60!!
There are a few items that I continue to shuffle from rental to rental, or storage building to storage building that still give me hope. An inspirational book, an item I'd love to share with a spouse, trinkets to give to friends--current and future. And I have MANY things that bring me pure JOY! I pull out a dish or a knick-knack, a childhood gift from my mother or my aunt and immediately I smile!
Those things are very important to me.
For whatever reason you keep things...enjoy them. If they are frustrating to clean, cumbersome to move or carry, get rid of them. If they bring back bad memories or unfulfilled dreams, toss 'em!
Transition to your new home with peace and eager anticipation that everything will be fine. You will be fine. Life will be awesome!
