It's like giving birth...you forget how awful it is until you're in the thick of it. And then there's no going back.
Months of planning, organizing, and pricing, all boiled down to one weekend.
A neglected spouse, kids, and friends. A few late suppers. The epic all-nighter the evening before. Smiling through the cars of people who show up an hour before you're scheduled to begin, as you're desperately trying to set up. Praying for good weather. Or maybe for a weekend downpour?
But that cleaned-out feeling is awesome...so light and fresh.
Until I peek into my jam-packed garage at the leftovers. Eeek! I need a beer. (Except that I don't really drink beer.) Hmmm...I need a bubble bath. Yeah. With a book. And no kids knocking at the door.
* * *
We were able to clear out most of our basement. I called it The Big Baby Clean-Out. What we hadn't given away to my sister or friends, or packed away for our own kids/grandkids, we sold. It wasn't until much later, when I was noticing some sadness, that I also saw it as a way of coming to terms with having the choice to have more kids taken from us. No, we hadn't planned on having any more children. And I'm more than thankful for the three (very busy handfuls) that we have. But the fact that it was now an absolute was something I didn't really realize had affected me, until I saw the price tags on everything. The outfits and toys and furniture and bedding. No more reminders around me to bring to my attention that that phase of my life was absolutely and definitely over. And it was sad...but it also ended up feeling good to physically and emotionally work my way through it.
Into the sale went the tubs of decor, kitchen items, and clothing that couldn't escape my frantic spring cleaning mode which followed my cancer treatments. It was a cleansing thing. A way to regain some feeling of control on my life. And a way to acknowledge that this stuff wasn't what mattered. It was expendable. I was not.
The sale went well. We did experience a couple light showers (where we frantically threw things into boxes and tried to drag tables into our packed garage). But for the most part it was sunny (where we frantically unpacked boxes and tried to remember how we had organized everything). The wind got a little nuts (as it oftentimes does out here) and we ended up having to take down the tent because it tried to fly away on us. But it's now over and done with.
And now we have a clean basement (kind of).
And a lighter heart.
My children, being completely neglected and babysat by electronics while I haul, organize, and price.
All set up and ready to party!
The leftovers.
Thank goodness for the local rummage sale website (which I ended up selling most of it on), but the local thrift store received a couple of carloads from me too.
I'll be honest and admit that it took me over a month to get the garage cleaned out so that we could park in it again. And it took quite a bit longer than that for me to get the 3-season porch (my staging area) back to normal. No more garage sales for me! I think...
The beautiful sky, right after the last load had been hauled and the garage door had been firmly closed (so we didn't have to look at the massive amount of work still left for us to do!)
Thank you, God, for all that you have made.
And thank you for allowing me the chance to work through all of my darkness,
so I can focus on Your light.
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