I probably won't get my formal invitation to the PC until July - six weeks out from my departure. That's when I'll know for sure which country I'll be going to. That sounded like a long way away until I realized that it will be June next week. And since it was January yesterday, I figured I'd better get a move on in preparing to leave for 27 months.
I'm planning to have a house sitter while I'm gone and it occurred to me that they might be bringing more than a tooth brush and would need a place to put their stuff. So, the closet/garage cleaning began. It feels good to get rid of stuff that's been lurking in corners, unused and forgotten, for years. It also felt good to use www.freecycle.org to give the stuff away.
Most of the items I trashed or donated were easy. Old work documents, games I hadn't played in 10 years, etc. But then there were things that were harder to let go of. They had sentimental value. Like photos from the 80's when I had big hair and a small butt. An enormous turkey platter that I've used once in 30 years, but was a gift from someone I love.
After six hours of sweating in the garage yesterday, it was almost done. This morning I went out to sort through the remaining "small stuff", thinking it would be a quick job. It was, right up until I found an old Rubbermaid container that had been shoved into a corner when I moved into this house in 1994.
At first I thought it was just more work stuff and old photos of me without a wattle and bat wing arms, but then I dug a little deeper. It was a treasure chest. Safe in that plastic storage bin was a lifetime of memories. Letters my dad sent my mom while he served in the Pacific in World War II. Pictures of my grandfather who died in 1956. My mom's corsage from her wedding in 1946. Original newspapers, announcing "War is Over", "Man Walks on Moon" and "President Kennedy Assassinated". My Girl Scout sash and report cards from elementary school. A newspaper article about my cousin Cheryl who won an essay contest in 1962 by writing about why she wanted to join the Peace Corps.
I don't need to have the "stuff" to keep the memories I cherish, but it's nice to have. I'll be keeping that box in the garage. The memories and love they represent I'll be taking with me to wherever the PC sends me.
Sounds like I'm in the same boat, but not sure about the rocks in my river. An older-than-average volunteer waiting for my invite per my Health outreach nomination to Central Asia/EE in Sept. I retire in mid-July and my son will move into my one-bedroom condo while I serve. That means throw-away, give-away, sell, keep, take-with. Lots of lists for plans to fall in place like dominoes when the invite comes. How's that for fantasy!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to you.