Tag: cleaning

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I Found Treasure!

Remember those piles from yesterday? The pile in my bedroom is getting smaller, like a snowdrift in January…which is to say that only I can tell it’s shrinking!

A few layers down, I found treasure. Not a forgotten $20 bill or check from a long lost cousin; what I found was worth more than money to me. (Although a tiny sum would have been a nice find, don’t you think?)

My treasure:

There’s a story behind this drawing. In March of 2009, my sister and I took Lily and Emmy to visit my mom in Iowa during Spring Break. We were going to leave Ed at home for a whole week, so Lily requested that he draw picture of himself. She wanted to bring the picture on our trip so she wouldn’t forget him. (Maybe I’ll discover that drawing next!)

We had a great week. Mom was feeling stronger, and we were all hopeful that she would recover from her radiation treatments and that her cancer would be held at bay. My sister and I took her to the mall on a search for dresses for my little sister’s wedding in May. Grandma read, sang, and cuddled with her favorite granddaughters. The week passed by quickly.

When it was time to leave Iowa, Lily requested a self-portrait from Grandma. However, as we were about to get into the van, Grandma didn’t have time to draw a picture. She drew, scanned and emailed a picture to Lily the next week. (Mom was a computer-savvy Grandma!)

I have a plan for this treasure. I’m going to frame it and hang it on Lily’s bedroom wall. Right next to this picture:

Grandma and Lily in March, 2009

Hopeful I’ll find more treasures in that MONSTER of a pile,
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Piles ‘n Piles of Stuff

Under our bedroom window, there is a short and squat wooden cabinet. On top of this cabinet is a pile of paper. A mountain of paper. There are paintings and school projects; receipts, magazines, catalogs; coupons, junk mail and brochures. This pile resulted from cleaning. For the past year, (or longer?) whenever we had company, I would move paper piles from the kitchen to that bedroom cabinet. My kitchen counters would be cleared, but that pile in the bedroom kept growing and growing. I can close the door on that pile, but every time I go into the bedroom, the pile is there, taunting me.

This week, I’m determined to get rid of that pile. Every day, I’ve been whittling away at it, filing and recycling and throwing out. It’s taking a long time…I have the handicap of two little girls who seem to constantly need attention these days.

Piles of stuff are my nemesis. I’ve got piles of laundry in the bathroom, piles of old teaching things in the basement, piles of toys in the living room, piles, piles, piles.

And then there’s the figurative piles, piling up in my brain. The shopping lists, financial worries, my volunteer work, my to-do lists, all piling up, along with stress, anxiety, and fear. I’m feeling cranky and tired. I’m wondering if I’m stretching myself too thin…but which responsibility should I give up? I enjoy teaching Sunday school, I love serving on my Mops steering committee, and while Vacation Bible School is a lot of hard work to lead, that week itself is always a joy.

If I can just keep chipping away at all these piles, and try to relax and have fun along the way, I’ll feel such a sense of accomplishment when all is said and done.

Then new piles will start growing, just like the junk mail on my kitchen counter.

Just call me Tortoise,

(Slow and steady wins the race…)