Sentimental Journey

We have a small basket on our kitchen counter that I put mail in that I want to revisit.  Typically it will collect mail for a week or so, and then I will go through it at decide what I'm going to do with the items that are in it.    After a week or two they kind of lose their attractiveness or the coupons have expired. Most of the time they are either shredded or just tossed in the trash.  I have put off going through it recently though because I knew there were sympathy cards in from Mom's passing.  Even though I haven't looked at them for a long time, my heartstrings were still attached and I knew there really wasn't any point.  Today I looked at the basket, took a deep breath, and dived in.

The couple who lived across the street from us when we moved into house are both deceased now.  They were good people, and we miss them, but they had more stuff than you can possibly imagine.  No, they weren't hoarders.  They were just a fall/winter couple who had both suffered through divorce and then found each other.  Combining households proved to be a daunting, sentimental task so they just opted to keep - well - pretty much everything they both had - including more than one house.  After more than a few years of trying to manage all this stuff and three homes, the kids are trying to clear things out.  They are planning on putting the house on the market as soon as possible.  Over the years I have become somewhat of a caretaker for the property, so I have been privy to the family saga of taking out the trash...LOTS of trash!

My own family has treasures too, and I can surely sympathize with their plight. While we don't have nearly as much stuff,  I tend to be pretty sentimental about things.  Part of that comes from just being a "girl" and part of it comes from my mysterious life story which will never be complete.  That being said, after looking through the window into our neighbors sorting, packing, and trash bag carrying, I'm pretty much motivated to do some of my own.  Today I started with the mail basket.  I not only found sympathy cards (I kept a few), but also Christmas greetings and birthday cards.  My birthday is in September.  It was time.

I am so blessed by
- My families who love me as I am.
- Memories of a strong, fun, caring, talented mother.
- Living the blessed journey of life in the palm of God's hand.