The Pile Shrinks

One by one. Things are being extracted from the pile. Not by me who'd love nothing more than to go into the basement, the garage, the closet in the dish room to find nothing. Rien. Nada. No such luck!

We're not giving away the badminton set with net, are we? And you know I love croquet. Oh no. Not my fly fishing poles or tackle gear. You just never know, Mom. But you'll be in Asia, I plead. No matter. What about when I come home for vacations? The dialog continues. And the pile is shrinking.

My darling friend in Louisville believes that someday I will luxuriate on a weekend morning with a fabulous new lover and breakfast in bed. Don't toss my dream. Not worth the $2 each will bring. The desire and the possibility, priceless. So back goes the never used twin rattan and wicker bed trays on legs to support a lovely petit dejeuner of croissant, cafe au lait and figs. Just in case. Wouldn't want to jinx anything. Especially that! *wink, wink*

Even my mother is getting into the act. Remember the Pink Ladies that Bob and I used in Newton in the mid-seventies to get rid of Marcia's things before we moved to Chestnut Street on Beacon Hill? They whipped through the house and poof it was gone in a jiffy. We made so much money from the wannabe suburbanites. And I didn't have the heart to tell her that what was sold was as she so aptly said ... Marcia's ... and a bit tacky at that. Anyone with lime green shag in the living room accessorized a bit gaudy methinks.

You can probably get more on eBay. Don't sell anything for 50 cents. It might be worth more. A valuable find. I doubt it, but back goes the two George Forman grills, one large one small. The crepe maker from 1987. And the Pampered Gourmet pizza stone and stand still in the original box that I bought when a neighbor in Oklahoma had what amounts to a Tupperware party and I felt obliged (we always order pizza in anyway). And the madeleine pan I purchased in the early 1990s inspired by Cordon Bleu and magnificent desserts.

Second guessing filled my storage bin, my garage, Mom and Danal's barn, my basement and all my closets. Second guessing has kept me from paring down. Lightening up. I have lugged 15,000 pounds of my life back and forth across the country. Twice.

You know? I am ready to toss. So I say good riddance. Not to my dreams. Or the possibilities. But to way too many things I truly do not need. And besides some extra $$ would come in handy when I jaunt across the Pacific to southeast Asia in the fall. Even if only for a month. If I am flying light who knows what I might find?

Cheers to a lighter load! And to my dreams.