Saying Goodbye...To Things

For most, divorcing means finding a new place to live, which means moving, which means getting rid of things. It's an exhausting, emotional time and we can feel quite needy, making necessary de-cluttering even more challenging.

Years ago, when my divorce was finalized, I downsized. I remember crying over getting rid of my then 8-year-old's preschool artwork and some of her toys. After all, I'd been saving these precious things imagining my daughter's... and her child's... face when I magically produced these gems 20+ years down the road. Next anger kicked in. It was so unfair that just because... well, you know the story.

It was also hard for me to part with furniture, cutlery, clothes, you name it. Given my scarcity mode, I was worried I'd never, ever be able to buy anything again.

However I had to face reality. My two daughters (along with their backpacks, toys and clothes), our dog and her toys, and I (with my things) were about to be living in one room for a year while the rest of our "new" home (with one working bathroom and a non-working kitchen) was made inhabitable. I simply couldn't keep everything. So rather than part with things we tearfully put it all into purple Pods... 6 actually... which got carted miles away to storage.

During that year the 3 of us longingly talked about how we couldn't wait to get our Pods back. So, when the day finally arrived, we excitedly dove in to unpack.

Hours later, when finished, we looked at each other thinking: What were we thinking? Why did we ever buy this stuff? And what were we going to do with it? Sure, we'd each unearthed some treasures, but most of it we simply no longer cared about. With ease we quickly divvied it into: keep, trash, Purple Heart, and give to younger cousins.

The giving away gave us the most pleasure.