Stuff

When I taught elementary school in Hawaii, I remember being adamant that the words "stuff" or "da kine" not be used in explanations or writing assignments.  The ambiguity of it all.  Be more specific.  Use your ever expanding vocabulary to tell me exactly what you mean.  Don't leave it to my imagination.  The "stuff" I think you are trying to describe may not at all  be the "stuff" you are referring too.  (And I wonder why the students got annoyed with their haole teacher.....)

In any case, the irony is not lost on me that currently my life revolves around STUFF.  Stuff we need, stuff we love, but just can't bring with us, stuff that once held value but now can be discarded, and astonishingly lots of stuff that holds little value, simply taking up space in our home.

I find it hard to express just how difficult it is to rid yourself of nearly everything you own.  Because that is essentially what we are doing.  We are bringing ZERO furniture to Norway. (Well, maybe our coffee table trunk, but I can count that as a moving apparatus....just because it happens to be antique doesn't mean I'm not going to fill that sucker up.)  And the only pieces we are storing at my parents' house are those that we absolutely love, like our dining room table, the old junior high school gym basket holder, my hope chest, a trunk, and Will's antique ginormous chest of drawers.  (Which consequently leaves me without a TV stand in my bedroom.  Do you know how less satisfying my night was tonight, drinking my chamomile tea and watching Suze Orman from the couch?  I mean, I still enjoyed Suze's warmth and wit and pretended I am following her advice, but not being able to snuggle in bed while doing that? Decidedly less enjoyable.)

But I digress.

Ridding our lives of all this STUFF is freeing and depressing all at once.  Lots of these items once held value for Will or myself, and likely they still do.  Yards of fabric and skeins of yarn represent the incomplete projects and good intentions of a procrastinating crafter.  Tools and thousands (not exaggerating here) of zip ties are symbols of our ability to create and fix.  These are values that we pride ourselves on.  Preparedness.  Self-reliance.  Creativity.  Looking at the items headed to the "give away" pile, I regret the projects left undone (and unstarted).  Almost as if we have failed the intent we had when we originally acquired all of this STUFF.

But once it's gone, it's almost as if a weight is lifted.  Almost immediately I have no list of to-do projects constantly floating in the back of my brain.  (Well, you know, except for the whole "move to Norway" thing....)  I love having something on the back burner to pick up and create.  However, I believe I ran out of burners a long time ago and it became very difficult to let go.

Thus, I maintain that everyone needs to at least pretend they are moving to Norway once in their lives.  Because, even though I know the STUFF is going to come back into my life, I would hope that I have a new perspective on it.  I intend to purchase (or accept...because let's face it, I am a sucker for the free)in order to use and enjoy, not to stash away for another time.  A popular quote that runs around blogland is "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." (William Morris)  I really do hope that I take that to heart this time around.  I've been given a fresh start and I intend to make good on this.

(Dear Friends and Colleagues, please take this advice to heart after you come take all the wonderful items I have advertised on Facebook and e-mail lists as available for the picking.)

Hilarious side note that has nothing to do with the rest of this post: Today I gave Marshall a box of 8 cheap-o crayons to use during the long car trip back from my parents' house and literally the first thing out of his mouth was "Oh! I hope there is chartreuse!"  I love that kid.