DOWN SIZING
We have recently had occasion to sell off some old possessions which have become a clutter in our household. For the second time in our years, another house has outgrown us. We need less space.
The process is now called “down-sizing”which sounds efficient and business-like.. Not too many years ago it would a have been called “getting rid of some junk.”
It has not been an easy thing to do. Some of the items which “must go” have been a part of our lives for many years, some since childhood. It is a pleasant thing to have to part with such treasures.
We are especially blessed in having children, grand and great-grand children for which I am most grateful. That helps eliminate much of the pressure and anguish of surrender of prized possessions. Our initial downsizing action was to to offer all members of the family free rein in selecting anything they felt they could use
.
That meant, for instance, that hundreds of books we had gathered over the years are now spread out among family members. They have, in one sense, gone nowhere at all; they are just being put to new, more varied use within the larger family, which is, after all,. what books are intended to doing. The glass-front bookcases went with many of them and our Rec Room area downstairs is almost book-less for the first time in many years - perhaps a hundred or so books remaining. We have done the same thing with silver, china and crystal accumulations.
During this process various items no one wanted had formed a pile in the double garage area. Several weeks ago friends helped load in into a small trailer, a pickup truck and our own van and off it went to a weekly auction sale site where it was translated into hard cash. It proved to be well worth the effort, too.
One of the first indications that you are approaching the time of downsizing because of advancing age is when you can no longer navigate the stairs with out wishing you didn't have to do so. We're looking for a single storied house of a bit more than a thousand square feet of floor space with no big lawn to mow, shrubs to keep up with, and driveways to free from snow in wintertime. Our house has been sold, and we are looking. Moving day looms ahead. The next few weeks, brimming with mystery and uncertainty at the moment are going to be most interesting.
A..L.M. September 21, 2003 [c430wds]
