July 2, 2012

In preparation for my one year away, I am de-cluttering my possessions and giving my four grown children any items they want.  The entire process has been a series of emotional ups and downs as I've had to examine every saved item from a lifetime of memories.

My plan is to rent my house to my nineteen-year-old son, along with three of his friends while I'm away.  Doing that has required that I clean out all the bedrooms and all the closets to make room for the new tenants.  Since the tenants are all under twenty, anything that I treasure has to be packed away for safe keeping.  The dining room furniture, where memories have been made for the past 25 years, has been moved into a back office.  Legs removed from the table and the sideboard, china and crystal wrapped and boxed, and the eight chairs stacked into a corner -- safe from the heavy traffic that four teenage boys will surely bring during the next twelve months!