Lightening our Loads
A few years ago my folks decided it was time to be pro-active about setting up for Old Age. They had lived in Georgia for 20 years when the Old Man retired, but none of us kids lived near and three quarters of their friends had died or moved away themselves. My brothers met with them in the spring and we all decided they’d move in August. That way we could move them when it was 99 degrees and humid, more fun that way.
We said go through your stuff and throw away all the crap and junk. We’ll have a 26 foot U-Haul trailer and your stuff has to fit in that. No problem, they said. While we were there we started hauling stuff to the dump or to the Goodwill. “Whoa, whoa!” they’d cry every item, every load, “we can’t throw that away. It’s valuable!”
Our folks grew up in the Great Depression. Pennies mattered. Stuff got passed down and stuff got reused. Everything was saved. Recycling before its time…. Rusty useless tools, busted TV’s, battered Christmas ornaments, goofy knickknacks, nothing was too ruined to toss. For a week we battled over what to keep, what to throw away. We pretty much decided 90% of their lifetime possessions were disposable and half that was rubbish. They decided 100% was keepable, if not indispensable. We reiterated that come August, what didn’t fit in a 26 foot U-Haul was going to be left behind. “You make the call,” we said, “but in August, we make it.” They’d moved about 20 times in their lives so we figured they’d be ready.
Ho ho. We flew into Georgia in August. Hot, humid, stressful. The first day we filled half the 26 footer and we hadn’t dented their pile of ‘indispensables’. Downsizing, apparently, was an alien concept. My brother and I shook our heads. Now what? we asked. We called the U-Haul place and rented another 26 footer. When it was full we closed the doors and pushed hard. In the end we left grills and patio furniture where they stood, a gift for the new tenants.
Last trip out to my folks, the Old Man was digging through unopened boxes in his basement. Five years after the Big Move. “I don’t know why we brought all this crap with us,” he said, shaking his head. I never said a word … but when I got home here I cleaned out my own closets. Believe me, there was plenty of crap. Why wait for the nursing home? I just hope I don’t buy half of it back accidentally from the thrift stores I donated to.
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