Have you ever been afraid to open a package? You know what is in it, but what if it isn't exactly what you ordered?  The tile for the dining room and kitchen came Saturday.  I haven't had the heart to open any of it.  What if it isn't the right color.  What if it isn't what I picked out...etc. etc.  What if I hate it?
The tile man comes today so it is too late to regroup.  It's going down one way or another.

I spent yesterday going through "The Closet."  You know the one.  Back tax returns.  Paper articles you have cut out.  Family memorabilia.  Three ring binders filled with...??  Some is easy to throw away.  Some of it I thought I would never open again--back when I moved here.  It's that "Just in Case" stuff that you are afraid some other generation might want someday.  I sincerely don't know what to do with all of it.

I saved that room and closet for last because I dreaded it.  It was worse than I thought.  I did toss all of Ken's "Aunt Betty and Uncle Clair" stuff.  They died years ago and left no children.  All their nieces and nephews are gone.  I've kept their stuff for 30 years.  Too long.  Nobody cares any more.  Sad, but true.  I tossed and tossed and sat and wondered what to keep--for someone else to trash.

Life is filled with things that don't matter.  And way too few things that do.  This is the second time I've made my "Last Move."  I swear I am never going to do this again.  I still have CD's.  And cassette tapes.  I did throw the reel to reels out--only to have Becky ask for them a couple of months later.  Who knew!!  I'm going to leave all that stuff in "The Closet" and let David (who bought my house) figure out what to do with it.  The next generation is better at this than I am.  Nothing is permanent with them.  Technology is moving too rapidly for me to figure out what to keep.  They throw stuff out with abandon and get new stuff.  I can't do that!!

We never threw anything out when I was growing up.  We had so little.  We were always "Making Do."  Repurposing.  Making kids clothes out of some adult's old work things.  Using pant legs, zippers and whatever we could--to go into a finished garment.  Nobody threw out plastic bags, twist ties, rubber bands.  Old inner tubes were cut into rubber bands for our clothes pin guns.  Kids didn't have store bought toys.  Only what gramps fashioned for us.  It was the best of times.  Moving was never a problem.  We didn't have much to move.  Just what God provided--which was enough.