New Place, Less Stuff

Despite what I have written on this blog, I really don't want to be one of those whiny sick people. You know the ones. You ask them how they are and they go into detail of every ache and pain and take the opportunity to throw a little pity party right then and there. I don't want to be remembered that way. In 'real life' I joke about my condition, but I have really spilled my guts in writing.

I often think of my maternal Grandmother ("Nonnie") who was ill most of her life, but rarely, if ever, complained. She did what she could, was always sweet, and devoted her life to God. Nonnie passed away at 77 after living with various illnesses for 40-50 years, undergoing HUNDREDS of operations on her digestive system and never asked for anything. Granted, she had more of a support system than I do (my family sucks in that regard, with exception to Mom and Lindsay, of course), but my waiting to rely on someone is a complete waste of time. I was emotionally coddled growing up by my Mom, but no one can rescue me from this. For instance, I will never receive an ounce of compassion from my brother or my father, or some friends who have dropped out of my life, and I need to accept that. This is my baby. I need to make the most out of this situation and own it.

We are moving in several weeks - for real, this time! It has occurred to me that for the six years we have lived in this house, we have entertained moving. It's a cute house in a great neighborhood, but the rent is too high and there is too much maintenance for 3 girls to keep up with. We are moving to an apartment or townhouse in the same part of town and will have to store a lot of things and purge big time because we won't have as much space, but getting some pressure off, plus being somewhere where everything WORKS will be fabulous. (Currently, the oven and dishwasher don't work, the plumbing sucks, and there are cracks in the ceiling, among other things.) I am excited about getting rid of a bunch of stuff I don't need and to live more simply. Once I have cleaned out my closet as well as my head, I know I can be more productive. Lindsay starts college in January (OMGosh!!) and will be 18 in September. I think she will love it, even though she loathed school and ended up being home schooled. As we all know, college is nothing like the hell of high school.

Now, what do I do with all this stuff? I will never part with my CD's, DVD's, and Vinyl. I have so many 45's and LP's left from the 70's and 80's. My turntable died quite a few years ago, but I plan to replace it one day. I don't want to part with my books and my Hello Kitty collection. I have a storage bin full of old letters from when people used to actually write letters. I am on the fence about that, as well as with my old organizers and journals that I like to reflect upon from time to time. Maybe I can manage to get all of that into one storage bin. That would be progress, as it's all over the place now. Oh, and photographs. I have tons from my digital years. A few years ago I threw out all memorbilia dealing with ex boyfriends, with exception to things involving my (ex) husband. I have so many poems and cards and what-nots from him and since he IS the father of my child, I suppose I will keep that stuff.  The biggest challenge of this move will be convincing Lindsay to scale down her stuffed animal collection. She has a ton in her room, as well as several giant bags in my Mom's closet. I know for sure no Pokemon or Neopets will leave her side, but surely we can part with the Barneys and the Scoobys? She keeps her things in immaculate condition. I say we make a trip to a children's hospital and spread some joy.