03/10/08

My house had been damaged during Hurricane Rita in Sept '05, and has needed a lot of repair work. We've been living in it anyway, dealing with a leaky roof, drafts coming through in surprising places, and warped floors.

That ended yesterday when a crew of young men from a military academy began their Spring Break by tearing my house apart...literally. In spite of the chaos, this is a very good thing. A non-profit group called Nehemiah's Vision is rebuilding my house.

My husband & I are taking advantage of the situation by letting go of a lot of junk and clutter, some actual, some emotional. I'm a "pack-rat" by nature, so its not exactly easy for me to get rid of things. There's always the thought in the back of my mind, "Well, what if I need this or that in the future?" Some of those things have been pack-ratted for years.

As I go through all the junk, I'm actually beginning to wonder why I ever kept most of it. I guess that means I'm making some kind of progress. Oh, I'm keeping certain things that are very special to me, like the angels my Mom has given me over the years, and some of the things from when my kids were growing up. But the piece of paper that had a phone number that is no longer important or even accurate, is going, going...gone! And, you know what? I feel like there is a wieght that is lifting that I didn't even realize I was carrying for many years.

I'm finding that I don't need reminders from my first marriage. Most of those years weren't very good ones, so why do I even want a reminder? I don't need the flower arrangement from my Grandmother's funeral, but I will keep a flower from it along with an encouraging plaque she had given me.

I'm beginning to learn that I don't need "stuff" to keep good memories, and I don't even want "stuff" that reminds me of not so good memories. Does that mean that this Grandma is finally starting to grow up? Maybe, so. LOL