The Next Step

The Next Step

I was feeling done with this year. In all my seventy-four years, I had never felt so done with one.

They say you can fit as much in your life as you want to, but what about the other direction? Can you avoid as much in your life as you want to? Obviously not.

Things choose to hit at unexpected times, and sometimes they actually hit hard. Here I am clearing out my house of almost fifty years with not even a real plan. It will be fine, I have options.

Can’t think about them now, too much to do. I pull still another box off a shelf in one of my stuffed closets. I could be crowned Queen of the Unseen! If you walked into my house it was always neat and orderly. But boy could I stuff a closet.

Unfortunately, I used to think of it as an asset, no need to downsize, I’ll keep everything “just in case,” as long as it’s out of sight...

The last box was on the top shelf, of this closet, I had no idea what was in it. I actually had to get a stool to reach it, As I slid it forward, I stepped back automatically, to check the weight of the box, but the box kept coming as I struggled not to fall.

The box burst open, spewing about a thousand pictures from our earlier years. The house, the kids, us. I hadn’t seen them in so long, I’d forgotten they existed!

I sat on the floor for hours, pulling out memory after memory. Yes, I am at an ending, but an ending of a wonderful chapter of my life, and I’m still here to add more. Suddenly I felt ready to take my next step. And I will.