Living without

So, the question has been posed by life and we have to respond whether we like it or not.

What do we need and what can we live without?
- Permanently
- temporarily
- in a year from now
- for the next 11 months on our backs

It's so weird!

and to have to think about it in that sense....all 4 options blundered together of what's going where and when and how and who...

Why, hello half used bottle of shampoo! Hmmmm.....can I take you with me to Thailand? Or should I try to use you up before I leave? Or do I put you in a big dark box for a long time and hope your cleaning qualities are still active and liquidy in a year from now? Or do I dump you in the trash?

I've been going thru our things in stages over the last few weeks, slowly sorting thru the things we definitely don't use or need first to save brain cells later.

Now the time has come to start thinking bigger...like sofa big. Like, all of our furniture big. Most of it has recently left the building, and the other half is on its way.
These are the things I don't really mind. It's almost a relief to watch them walk out the door into new happy families. The tough part is about to come.....all the things we keep, every single item will be sorted stacked piled categorized boxed up and shipped out to one place or another...and they have to be worth keeping.

I was going thru our books yesterday, boxing them up (books are an exception to the rule...they cannot be thrown out, no matter how much we don't read them!) and while organizing little piles into other little piles, I found a photo album I made in highschool. I had put together bits and pieces of everything. A clipping from a newspaper, a baby picture, a movie ticket stub, senior pics...it was totally one of those moments of wow...here I am...all of those moments from being a kid, highschool, college, rock bands, orchestras, proms, friends from far and wide, all of that is part of me, and even though I can't bring them with me, not even the photo album, all of those people and experiences are coming along inside of me for the ride. Just as this next adventure will add to the pot for the future.

Maybe the the pot just keeps getting bigger and bigger? The more people and experiences I add, the more space opens up inside my heart for more.
Maybe it's not about the stuff, I can always buy more shampoo ANYWHERE! It's about living to the fullest I can in every stage of life, including this transitional one.

Holy cow!
We're really doing this!