Cleaning Up...Mentally & Literally

As many of you know I'm on a journey this year of mental and physical wellness. One of my MAJOR projects is cleaning out a 3 car garage that was full of stuff. Stuff that I had acquired from a variety of reasons, but a project I wasn't ready or able to deal with until now. This summer I decided it was time to deal with it. We are preparing to move and this project needs to be dealt with. It's a huge one. I like to be able to tackle something from start to finish, in about 15 minutes. This is not a 15 minute project, this isn't even a 15 hour project...it's likely a 15 month project, don't laugh...I'm not kidding. This project has taught me a lot about myself. I don't like things dragging on, but this is a project that is going to drag on. It's multi-faceted, it can't be wrapped up quickly. It needs to be completed in phases. I'm learning to be at peace with this. I'm in phase 1. Clean out/sort/purge/sell....I can't do it in the ideal way of taking everything out of the garage and putting it back in. Some of the things in the garage are needed for the new house and we aren't ready to move. It will all happen, I just need to realize that it's going to take time and be okay with that. Every step is a step forward. Do you ever find yourself overburdened by all you have to do? I'm sure, we all do. However, always remember you are moving forward. Yesterday I got the rare opportunity to have Paul help me with a project I'm heading up. He is usually MIA during those times. He's told me he doesn't want to help with this, I honored that. Yesterday, it was so refreshing to have him jump in and help...I seriously saved several hours of work thanks to him! It also allowed me to quickly deal with a few emotional areas that I didn't want to touch. Having someone help you with these items is huge. I had 2 large toy sets that I had kept from child hood that I needed to send to other families. I had a HUGE vintage fisher price set of over 200 pieces that needed to go. It has a rich story of being passed from families and I wanted it to go to a family I knew. It was time to give it up, clear it out and move on. I get to keep the memories, that's what matters. A sweet little girl will be so surprised this year when she receives the pieces for her birthday and Christmas. I hope she will have fond memories just like I did! Part of me was able to let these things go because due to the proceeds of this clean out we are planning a Disneyland trip next year. This trip has great meaning to me. It will be a fun trip full of memories and it will be paid for because I was able to deal with past goods that need new homes! Knowing I could trade past stuff for some future memories made the transition easier. I'm working on a cool wall montage that will include antlers. Yesterday, we sorted through and organized my dad's antlers. On one of the antlers was a deer tag still intact. It was cool to hold it and see my dad's hobby first hand. His signature on the tag brought back fond memories, my dad had amazing handwriting, beautiful even! I will make this tag part of my memory wall. I cried as Paul cut the tag off the antler. I miss my dad so very much. Moments like these stir up the emotions held in your soul. I get to see my dad everyday when I look at my daughter. She has his fire, his passion, his intellect, his voice! My dad had an amazing singing voice...church will never ever be the same. His voice carried across most spaces. I could just see them singing together. She's quite the hunter in training too. She can shoot a rifle and has earned the nickname Annie Oakley from a relative. I love that I can pass stories of my dad onto her. Just because he isn't here doesn't mean we can't keep his memory alive. It felt good to cry. Yesterday was a good day. I have lots, LOTS of work left, but I'm making progress, moving forward and that's all we can do everyday. We can always strive to do our best. Always.