Inundated with STUFF!

I have come to the conclusion that a large part of life is spent accumulating STUFF - which one eventually has to get rid of. (And for some of us, parting with it is not an easy task.)

Accumulating STUFF is, I think, a normal part of life. I remember the first records and books I bought with my teenage babysitting money. I was so proud of the fruit of my early labors. I probably still have the records, and maybe a few of the books as well.

Then in my early working years, I carefully purchased a wardrobe to look "professional" rather than "student-y."

Add to that furniture and dishes for my first apartments, and the pile of STUFF is really beginning to grow!

Later on there were the baby things - toys and books - we bought when our kids were small. We still have all the Dr. Seuss books. Some of their childhood STUFF is gone, but a lot remains. It is interesting, to look back and see what I was reluctant to part with.

Now that my house is full to overflowing with STUFF that marks the different stages of my life, I suddenly have to decide what to do with STUFF my mother has been keeping, as I clear out her home.

It doesn't feel the same as my own STUFF - which holds the aroma of my life, the scent of my special memories, and is part of who I am...

My parents STUFF is a lot easier to part with.

But some of it, like this Lowry organ I have to move from my mother's apartment before the end of next week, has special sentimental value. I remember how much pleasure my dad derived from it. Music was an important part of both my parents' life. For my mother, this organ is a part of my father she was reluctant to give up, until now. Otherwise, why would she have brought it with her across the country when she moved East? But now she is now ready to say good-bye to that, too.

And out of love for him, I hope it will find a home with someone who enjoys it as much as my father did.