Category: Life as I Know It

My everyday life as a woman, wife and mother.

40 Bags Sidelined by Spring Break

40 Bags Sidelined by Spring Break

40bagsin40days

Whew! We are finally back from our nine-day whirlwind spring break tour of Oklahoma and southern Missouri, and its good to be home. I always say the best thing about traveling is going home. I love to see the sights and enjoy my family, but there is just something comforting and stable about being in familiar surroundings after sleeping in strange beds and consuming way too much restaurant food for days on end.

Okay, now that I’ve established my alibi for not getting more accomplished toward my 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge, I do want to update you on my progress (and yes, there is some). I dropped off four boxes and one bag of donations to the local charity resale shop the morning we left for vacay. I also left behind two bags of just plain trash for the next pick up day. I managed to sort, clean and rearrange two of the craziest closets in the house, one which houses my son’s craft and coloring supplies and one that holds coats, hats, scarves, gloves, games and puzzles. Yes, that second one sounds like a hot mess, but it actually looks pretty good. . . for the moment. If you’re planning a visit, come now!

So if I add the seven bags and boxes to my first group, it looks like I have 11 total items toward my goal. Okay, so it’s not a spectacular showing at this point, but just wait until you see what’s coming up next. My guest room looks like an F5 flew through it; and although I was too embarrassed to photograph the destruction, my husband so kindly took pictures and passed them along to my mother. . . she wasn’t surprised. I also started the kitchen cabinet clean out this evening, so that will be a fun one to show.

How are you coming on your 40 Bag Challenge? I would love to hear about your progress and see pictures along the way.

My 40 Bags in 40 Days Update:  Day 10

My 40 Bags in 40 Days Update: Day 10

40 Bags in 40 Days

Well it’s day 10 of the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge, and I have purged four total items from my ever burgeoning house. What? Oh yes, didn’t I tell you I’m playing 4 Bags in 40 Days??? Okay, so that was not my intention, but I’m afraid I’ve not made much headway toward the real goal. One chair, two boxes of donations and one bag of trash — that’s it!

I started out with the best of intentions and even made a list of 20+ places that needed my attention, from the guest room closet to the work bench in the garage (my husband will appreciate that one); unfortunately, I have only managed a few minor spots here and there and the only area that has been sorted from top to bottom is the six little linen drawers in my small serving table. *sigh* But I did run across some super cute dish towels and table runners I forgot I even owned. . . I didn’t get rid of them, mind you, but at least I now know where to find them.

So I guess it’s time to get serious about this whole 40 bags thing, or should I say 36 (I’ll take those small victories where I can get them), and here’s the plan. I will start in the guest room closet and work my way under the guest bed and up the stairs to my son’s art closet. After that will be the office closet, my closet and the kitchen cabinets. Last but not least will be the huge storage area under the garage (yes, it’s the size of the entire garage, and yes, it’s full). Who am I kidding, I should just start in the storage room and be done with this project in one fell swoop. Hmm, or maybe I should just waste spend more time thinking about the best plan of attack before I jump into anything too taxing. . .

Rest In Peace From the Hollow

Note: This post was written in Blue Jay Hollow (pronounced “holler”) where many of you may remember there is no WiFi. I wrote the following thoughts early Saturday morning, but posted upon my return to life as usual.

I promptly find myself in The Hollow this weekend, unfortunately not for pleasure. One of my dear uncles unexpectedly passed away this week and we are all gathering for his funeral today; but while I realize this trip is not for fun, whenever I’m with my extended family I can’t help but enjoy the hours.

Just yesterday one of my aunts and cousins whiled away the night with talk of past events and dreams to come. We laughed at ourselves (and one another) as we recounted silly events and shared memories like the trip to San Diego where my Nannie’s snoring was so loud and so long that I finally picked up my pillow and retreated to the hotel room bathtub for the remainder of the night only to be surprised by my aunt standing in the doorway moments later with a discouraged look on her face saying, “I can’t believe you beat me to it.” Man, my grandmother snored like a sailor.

With the morning’s funeral weighing heavily on our hearts, invariably the conversation turned to my own father’s passing and how such a wonderful man was taken from this earth far too soon. Stirring up specific memories of my Dad are both sad and joyful at the same time. He passed away at age 59 when I was just 32. While I know people lose their parents at much younger ages, I felt like I was barely an adult when he was so abruptly taken from our lives.

My Dad’s death hurt. It hurt more than anything I had ever felt in my short lifetime, but out of it came so many blessings and so many lessons. I can’t possibly go into all of that here — I haven’t the room, but ask me sometime in person and I’ll gladly share. What I can say is that hopefully my personal heartbreak has prepared me to comfort my young cousin who has now lost her own father before the age of 30.

As I worked through my own pain years ago I realized that yes, I lost my dear, wonderful father at an early age, but I feel so lucky to have had such a fabulous Dad for even a short time because some (or even most) people never get to experience life with such a loving parent like mine. Granted I didn’t come up with this discovery on day one, or even week one of my Dad’s passing, but the peace of this realization did come. . . and that’s what is important.

I was definitely a “Daddy’s Girl” and I still miss him after 15 years, but when I return to The Hollow and reminiscence with family it makes all those shared memories more endearing than sad. I can truly rejoice in his life and that I got to share it, and appreciate the legacy he left in our hearts. I hope and pray that my dear sweet cousin will eventually be able to do the same.

In memory of two of the good ones:

E.C. Bailey 1944-2017

Everett Sexton, Jr. 1942-2002

 

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