We meant to spend this weekend moving; moving the odds and ends that we have chosen to keep us company over the next few months while we stay with my parents. We were inevitably stopped in our tracks early Saturday afternoon as my husband was called back to work for the weekend - some sort of meltdown - I mean, really, can't they have a meltdown without him?
As I tried to continue on without him and mentally put myself in the "moving" frame of mind, I realized why I am finding this so difficult - it comes down to one word: things. What things do we put in long term storage? What things go into my Mom's attic? What things do we take to Rome - what if those things break? My milk glass collection pictured above is one of those "things" whose fate has yet to be determined. Upon further reflection and a rare quiet moment alone, I have to remind myself that this move is not about things. It is about us - as a family. Life is about accumulating experiences and memories - ones singed so deeply into your conscience they blanket you with warmth during the coldest of hours - not about things. And while I will be the first to admit without shame that I do love "things" - I am simply reminded of their current importance {or lack there of} in my world.
Have a lovely day of memory making...
xoox~jla
I really understand, and keep trying to remind myself that I will always hhave the memories, and that the stuff can actually clutter my mind.
My stuff being all the baby stuff we have held on too, after many miscarriages-one a few weeks ago we decided to celebrate one and stop spending time chasing for another. I just listed a lot of it for sale. The other is my mothers things. She died 6 years ago. I held on to her things very tightly as they represented a phuysical manifestation of her. Now that the grief has eased and the memories have gotten stronger through repitition and reflection, I am feeling a release of many of her things that just don't speak to me.
Sorry this has been so much about me. I was so touched by the delicacy of this image and the way you shared. I guess it got some of my own thoughts flowing.
Hope the storing decisions lay themselves before you.
Posted by: Thea | Monday, 17 March 2008 at 06:29 PM
I just wanted to say a big thanks for letting us be with you along this journey. You are inspiring my family to revisit some ideas long overlooked.
Posted by: Rachel | Monday, 17 March 2008 at 07:27 PM
The milk glass are quite lovely things...(i use to have a collection myself)
But I am sure they will be just as lovely when you rediscover them if you choose to leave them here... That may be part of the fun...rediscovering many things you love in the future.
Posted by: joetta maue | Monday, 17 March 2008 at 07:56 PM
Collections and things, I love them also. And your milk glass collection is a beauty... such treasure.
Best of luck with it all... the moving, the sorting, the shuffling and the reflecting.
Posted by: gracia | Monday, 17 March 2008 at 08:51 PM
jen - if i can give some advice.... leave it behind! for me, i packed so sparsely, but still ended up bringing some things with us to south america that i could've left behind (we didn't know how long we would be gone either) becase there was this desire to have pieces of home with me. the best things seem to be photos and pictures that you be packed flat, but taken out theyfelt so large in our new places...
leave it behind too... because you'll find so many new things in rome that you might want space for... how exciting!
Posted by: jenny v. | Monday, 17 March 2008 at 09:50 PM
How beautifully touching. I'm always trying to remind myself to only hold onto items that mean something to me, that I connect with, but it's easier said than done.
Jen, I wish you and your family a smooth transition into this exciting new (enviable) life upon which you are about to embark. I'll miss ya.
Posted by: elisabeth | Monday, 17 March 2008 at 11:57 PM
oh...i must butt in! we move so often. and my life is not about things...but. but.
we brought with us what would make us happy. just three or four things.
when you walk out of your spare new bedroom in the morning, wiping your eyes and trying to remember where you are...what would you like to see on the wall? where would you love to sit? to hold? to wrap around you?
certainly, all the answers would be my girlies and husband. but. but.
i do love my chaise that we all fit on...and the music box from my late sister. and the picture my middle babe drew of her father when she was three...
have gone on too long. go with your heart. and remember...you'll be in italy! my best.
Posted by: karey m. | Wednesday, 19 March 2008 at 02:50 AM