Random Parts and Pieces - Let's pretend we're dead

 Before my mother passed back in October of 2020, she and my dad has basically consolidated their lives to a small 2 room apartment building.   In the brutal logic that both my mom and dad practiced it made sense.   Less to maintain as they grew older meant less to worry about.

Their sons were married and had moved away from home a long time ago. They didn't need much or wanted much.  They lived simple lives and would rather spend their days on things they enjoyed like watching a family of deer romp in a field that their balcony overlooked.  Going out to dinner and spending time with loved ones and family.

When she passed unexpectedly and Gary, my brother, and I cleaned out the apartment, we were still amazed by the junk they had accumulated.   Somehow, we managed to get through the days.  When my dad passed, it was a little easier to not only deal with his passing, but to clean what he had left in his bedroom.

The original paint and drapes

Now Sue and I are going through our office and other rooms, as well as our lives trying to decide what is needed and what is not.  This is largely due to one of the last major projects in our home.  Painting.  The kitchen, dining room, den living room and hallway are complete, now all that needs finished are the bedrooms and office.  

I've never been a fan of painting, I'm never really satisfied with how something looks when I've completed it, which is one of the reasons we hired a professional painter recently. I'm also a big fan of hiring the right professional to ensure that the work is done properly and correctly.

Unfortunately, one of lessons I've learned is that I really don't how to do much of anything.

Looking on the bright side, it's also allowing us to clean things out, rearrange, reset our emotional Fung Shui in a way. 

So, we cleaned and found papers and other information that was no longer needed.   Things that we thought had been lost years ago, a plethora of pens and markers, documents that should have been shredded years ago.

Why do we keep all this crap?  Why do we humans insist on being the proverbial pack rat?  Certainly, our lives are more than.... collections of curiosities.  

I've touched upon themes like this before; the need to organize, to clean, to simplify.   While neither Sue or I are minimalists, we simply have too much stuff, and an old George Carlin skit comes to mind.  

I think about all this and more as my life changes.   Recently I've lost my Facebook accounts and have been in a fight with them to reestablish it, but if I am being honest with myself, I'm not sure if it's something I want to bring back.  

At the same time, I'm considering a side hustle to bring a bit more money into the house.   Which, due to the nature of any business today, would require social media.   As I had issues with setting up the new computer and dealing with VPN's, I realize how little I actually know.

I've had a lot of changes occur in the past several months.   

You can always reset, reorganize and begin anew.  You just have to understand that it gets harder and harder each year, and the years go by quickly.

My lovely wife and I were talking about that the other night.  How we need to organize for the future to obtain our dreams, yet still manage to have some sort of life outside of work and commitments.  How a side hustle may be not only beneficial but needed.

What legacy will I leave?   What memories will be shared?   What baubles will make up my life when they come to clean my room?

This cleaning is cathartic, and I think about all this and more.  How change is needed and required in order to grow.   

Our house, which has long felt like a stranger is finally talking on our personality.  It is finally feeling like a home built specific for us.  It's still going to need some work, but nearly all the major things have been completed.   Conversely, I feel a need to empty rooms and begin anew.  

Because the only constant is change.