The Stuff of
Life
I knew I had
a lot of stuff, but I did not realize just how Much Stuff. Luckily the
house had a large garage with double wide door.
The perimeter was lined with shelves filled with containers of stuff
that would not fit inside the house. For
three days Em and I cleaned, purged, set aside and got ready for the sale.
The ad had
been placed on Craigslist:
“Moving Sale. Must Liquidate (Doris Dr. New
Smyrna Beach)
Leaving
Florida for good and moving to 300sq ft apartment in New York City. If it
doesn't fit we can't take it! Nice
furniture, antique Deco armoire, clean area carpets, Christmas collection,
mirrors, knick knacks, great books, books shelves, beanie babies, American Girl
dolls and clothing, estate sale finds, women's clothing, vintage and thrift
clothing, size 9 women's shoes. Jamis 3-speed Bike, Vintage lamps. Ping pong
table. Art. Entire series Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin. A lot of good things
we’re letting go.
Friday
1/17 Saturday 1/18 8am-3pm
If it doesn't fit in the minivan we have to get rid of it.”
If it doesn't fit in the minivan we have to get rid of it.”
I read
that ad now and still quiver. I don’t
know how we did it. Em doesn’t know how
we did it. At one point she was almost
in tears trying to deal with the momentous task before us, wondering if we
could get it done while her heart was breaking saying goodbye to her precious
things. But we kept moving. Moving. Cleaning. Tossing. Wiping. Sweeping. Tossing. Deciding.
The ad was a
mere image of what I was getting rid of.
Uncountable presents, travel souvenirs, memories, promises, former lives
and lovers, and lives hoped for. During
my presale planning people who love me gave a lot of advice; “Be ruthless”, “Think hard
about what you will keep”, “You have so much stuff, do you have any idea how
you’re going to deal with all of it?” STOP! I know!! I haven’t been sleeping
thinking of all this! I have looked at
this from all angles, including within. I
am getting rid of things, yes, but things that I love, that have meaning to
me. I know you can’t Love love them but what they represent
is far greater than what they are.
Em and
I had both promised friends and family that we would make the circuit while we were in town and visit
the people we missed and loved. But there
was no time. Time became a fog through which we worked. It was the only way we could survive the
week. We were up against a hard deadline
and kept at the plow.
There
was one moment when I stole away with half a sandwich and sat to eat it while
overlooking the beach. I recall that
half hour as a time of still thoughtlessness in the vast embrace of the calm
ocean before me.
Onward. Over those days we pulled out the items that
we knew we were keeping. Some of them
were meaningless emotionally but we knew they would have more value in the
city. Other things were special things
of my parents. Priceless artifacts that
meant something only to us, letters, photos, childhood mementos of my baby
girl young woman that we tucked away in neat boxes and hid in a corner
under a sheet. This pile would grow
larger as the weekend progressed.
As we pulled
items I cleaned the house that had been ignored in the year I had been
away. Inch by literal inch the house was
being wiped clean of my presence and absence.
One of the
most difficult chores was pricing each item.
How could I put a price on something that meant so much to me but was a
bargain to a stranger? With a broad stroke I priced the big things, shelving,
couches, lamps, cabinets, beds, the pieces that only served a purpose. The personal items would be dealt with one by
one.
8 a.m. Friday
morning came early but we were ready. Bring it on.
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