Letting Go of 'The Stuff'-Holding on to the Relationships
Moving is a huge task, moving to another continent is, well, a different sort of task. When we left our last house to move into this 'crazy commune' as it has affectionately become known, we had a two month period between when we closed on our old house and when this house was ready for us to move into. We needed somewhere to put all our STUFF while we lived in the Kilborns house and 'finished' this one. Thankfully we chose to purchase instead of rent a 40ft storage container because it is STILL sitting where we had it parked it four years ago at the end of our driveway, and until recently it was still relatively full.
The most common question about our ugly friend is 'What is IN there anyway?' The answer? We don't have a garage, so all the things you would keep in a garage, Phil's tools, Patricks' tools, camping gear, bikes etc. The challenge now is getting all that out and into other places so the eyesore is no longer on our property when we have a for sale sign hammered into the front lawn. Something we are hoping to have happen within the next week to two weeks.
We live in a society that puts huge importance on the acquiring of more and more stuff, better stuff, bigger stuff, the newest stuff....but it's never enough. Like an itch you can't quite scratch it's never satisfied. I was definitely a stuff hound many years ago and still feel sucked into it each Christmas-regretting it later when I feel like I have spoiled my kids. Letting go of the stuff we have piled up over the last few years feels like lifting a weight off our shoulders. I remember coming back after four years in Africa to sort through the boxes I had stored in my brothers basement. On the way there I really struggled to remember what I had left there, aside from my journals it was a complete mystery to me.
All the things I had thought we were 'valuable' no longer held much importance.
The 'stuff' is easy for me to let go of, it actually feels good, like putting something down you've been carrying for so long you didn't realize just how heavy it was. Letting go of the people, the relationships..that's another story.
We are so blessed with great friends. New friends that have become a huge part of our lives and old friends who have been there through so many of lifes' ups and downs. I recently spent 4 days with 2 of my oldest and best girlfriends. We have tried to do a 'chick getaway' yearly but as we have had children it's been increasingly more difficult to do and has become more of an every two to three year event.
We have been in each others lives for 25 years. A quarter of a century. We have been there through each others highschool crushes and first loves, the tragedy of losing two of our parents; a mother in September and then a father in November of the same year. We navigated the rocky road of grief together, it was messy, it was painful but we came out the other side with an invisible bond that would act as a foundation for a life time friendship. That foundation has created the kind of friendship that has spanned time and distance as we went on to University, marriage and the miracle of the birth of our children.
These are women who know everything there is to know about me, have seen me at my worst and my best and still love me. When I embraced Christianity they saw a change in me, yes, but weren't scared away-knowing that the same 'Jenschell' was still there-just happier.
As I sift and sort all the stuff in my life into piles to sell, piles to throw out and piles to keep, I know there are people and relationships in my life that no matter how far apart we are, will always remain in the 'keep' pile.
Thanks Chiquitas for being more than friends for being sisters.
The most common question about our ugly friend is 'What is IN there anyway?' The answer? We don't have a garage, so all the things you would keep in a garage, Phil's tools, Patricks' tools, camping gear, bikes etc. The challenge now is getting all that out and into other places so the eyesore is no longer on our property when we have a for sale sign hammered into the front lawn. Something we are hoping to have happen within the next week to two weeks.
We live in a society that puts huge importance on the acquiring of more and more stuff, better stuff, bigger stuff, the newest stuff....but it's never enough. Like an itch you can't quite scratch it's never satisfied. I was definitely a stuff hound many years ago and still feel sucked into it each Christmas-regretting it later when I feel like I have spoiled my kids. Letting go of the stuff we have piled up over the last few years feels like lifting a weight off our shoulders. I remember coming back after four years in Africa to sort through the boxes I had stored in my brothers basement. On the way there I really struggled to remember what I had left there, aside from my journals it was a complete mystery to me.
All the things I had thought we were 'valuable' no longer held much importance.
The 'stuff' is easy for me to let go of, it actually feels good, like putting something down you've been carrying for so long you didn't realize just how heavy it was. Letting go of the people, the relationships..that's another story.
We are so blessed with great friends. New friends that have become a huge part of our lives and old friends who have been there through so many of lifes' ups and downs. I recently spent 4 days with 2 of my oldest and best girlfriends. We have tried to do a 'chick getaway' yearly but as we have had children it's been increasingly more difficult to do and has become more of an every two to three year event.
We have been in each others lives for 25 years. A quarter of a century. We have been there through each others highschool crushes and first loves, the tragedy of losing two of our parents; a mother in September and then a father in November of the same year. We navigated the rocky road of grief together, it was messy, it was painful but we came out the other side with an invisible bond that would act as a foundation for a life time friendship. That foundation has created the kind of friendship that has spanned time and distance as we went on to University, marriage and the miracle of the birth of our children.
These are women who know everything there is to know about me, have seen me at my worst and my best and still love me. When I embraced Christianity they saw a change in me, yes, but weren't scared away-knowing that the same 'Jenschell' was still there-just happier.
As I sift and sort all the stuff in my life into piles to sell, piles to throw out and piles to keep, I know there are people and relationships in my life that no matter how far apart we are, will always remain in the 'keep' pile.
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