Wednesday, March 23

Going through crap...

I need to start blogging somewhat daily...unfortunately I'm not very good at doing this in the first place, so I need to get exponentially better! :)

Over the last couple of weeks I have slowly been going through things, in fact, if you came over to our house right now it would look as if we had a gaggle of toddlers come through and pull things off shelves, stack things in the hallway, etc.  We have given 3 car loads of clothing and miscellaneous items to good will, and still have TOO much random crap.  Also, in this process, we have been buying nicer "teaching" clothes for our big move in ten weeks...most of these clothes coming from Gap Outlet or the Clearance rack at Gap...if we're being honest.  I feel less terrible about buying a bunch of new clothes when we're buying them at 50%-70% off at all times.  Even though there is so much more to do, I've gotten a little accomplished, and feel pretty good.

Going through our things has gotten me thinking...How did we acquire so much stuff...it's random stuff, too.  I went through an obscure "junk closet" just yesterday and I found things I bought months ago, still unused and in the packaging....and I have no pragmatic use for it anymore.  How much of the stuff I have is actually worth the money or time I spent acquiring it?  I guess it comes with moving halfway across the globe - this perspective has made me wonder loads of different things: How will I parent?  What important ideals will I hope to instill in my children?  How will living abroad affect the way I parent?  When we move back to states after we have lived abroad, will I be considered frugal?  Will I be the "crazy" missionaries who were never really "missionaries"...that everyone smiles at but makes fun of behind closed doors?  Will I still find shopping at Hobby Lobby an enjoyable experience?  And I know these are silly questions, or may seem insignificant, I still wonder about them.  I don't lose sleep over them, but I wonder.

Wonder.  There are so many unknowns in moving, regardless of where you move.  Wonder is the one thing that is making me anxious and excited all at the same time.  I can't really explain the feeling, but wonder is at the center of it all.  Slowly getting rid of things has been an eye-opening experience.  These things I can't take with me...so what is important?

At the end of the day...what are the things I don't want to be without?  Superficial and insignificant to others...but what are they?  It's a weird thing to think about.