~whether I have "a plenty" or not~

When I was a little girl growing up back in Kansas my little sister and I would often go to our grandmother's house on Sundays while our folks worked at their jobs.  They would drop us off at her bungalow style home on Locust Street in the small south-central Kansas town of Halstead and then head off to their own jobs on Main Street.  Mom worked at Wasinger's, a restaurant in the middle of town and Dad pumped gas at the filling station at the opposite end of the block.  They were getting "on the job" training as it was to prepare them to be business owners in our hometown of Haven in the years that would follow.  Grandmother Brown was our "babysitter" but we never once thought of it that way.  To the two little girls that we used to be, it was just a time to go and have fun with a dear and sweet woman who loved us very much.  

There was lots to see and do at Catherine Brown's house.  She had collections of all kinds of stuff.  Two built in china cupboards were filled to the brim with the things that were special to her.  I remember most of what was in there, even though I was only 7 or 8 years old.  They were special things that every once in a while she would get out and tell us their story.  There were these beautiful ceramic cardinals whose brilliant red color would always catch our attention.  They belonged to our grandfather, a dear and kind man that I would never remember knowing.  Andy Brown held me once as a tiny baby and my mom always remembered what he said of me that day.

"She is so pretty and tiny.  Wouldn't it be nice to be this little once again?"

Those ceramic cardinals became my mother's once everything was taken care of after Grandmother's passing at 106.  When we lost our mom in 2007, they ended up with me.  Now they sit high atop a shelf here at home in Montrose.  Their brilliant red color really has not dimmed that much with the passing of time.  Thankfully in the move here to the Great American West they stayed intact.  Not a chip to be found on their fragile bodies.  I got them out the other day and began to display them once again.  Some day in the future they will be passed on to my own children to enjoy.

I've been thinking a lot lately of the many personal possessions that I have amassed over the years, things that made the move from Kansas over the big mountain and here to Colorado.  It took many trips back and forth until finally during the last few trips I just began to give things away to friends and family back there.  I gave away a lot, so much that I no longer even recall what it was and who I gave it to.  But the weird thing is that I don't even miss those possessions and to me that was a sign that I had too much to begin with.  As I look around at what I still have it is with the realization that a whole lot more should be parted with and I've been asking myself some questions.  

How much do I really need to have?  What is really the most important thing to me?  Are my possessions getting in the way of how I live the remaining years of my life?  

I have been reading about minimalist living for many years now and as of late I have become intrigued by the "tiny house" movement.  To be honest, I'm really not there yet but the truth is that I'm leaning way more towards living with less than I am with living with more.  In a day and age where the rising cost of living continues to smack us all in the face, I think that it is wise to consider this.  Although Mike and I would like to continue to work and not completely retire for another 4 or 5 years or so, there will be a time in the future when we say "enough" and settle down to enjoy our remaining years doing as we would wish to do.  We want to travel and see the kids and grandkids or visit places that we have never seen before.  It's a goal ahead of us, one that we look forward to but before that happens we still need to rid ourselves of so much stuff.  I'm not sure that you can really enjoy life if you have to worry all the time about taking care of your many possessions and hey, this may not be true for you but it is most certainly true for me.

It's strange, you know?  If I really look at my "list of 60 things to do before I turn 60", there are numerous items that pertain to beginning to live a more simple life.  I didn't even realize it at the time I made it and as a matter of fact I have just now this very minute seen the trend that runs throughout my list.  There is not one item of the 60 named that refers to making a ton of money with stocks and bonds to secure my retirement and certainly nothing that refers to purchasing any big ticket item in the time ahead.  This list talks of time to travel to places that I've been before and places that I have never yet seen.  It speaks of being at peace with whatever life should deal me and the need to continue to enjoy the days that are left for me.  It's been an awakening for me this morning on this 19th day of January to realize that way back in August of last year when this list was being formulated that I really was telling myself just what had the most meaning in my life.  

I wasn't aware of it then.  I am aware of it now.

I love the pictures that I see of the little houses that are called "tiny" and I marvel that anyone could live in the square footage that is available.  Although I am not 100 percent positive that I could be one of them I surely do believe that I could live with much less and be very happy.  In the last few years I have grown increasingly aware of the things that are most important to me.  Since my move here to the Rocky Mountains, I have been refined on  God's mighty anvil even more.  The 60th item on my list is the most important one for me and if I can remember that one, then whether I have a "plenty" or not, everything will turn out "ok".  

Always has.  Always will.

"#60-To remember always the One who made me."

                                                    The "blessing"~

                                                A person just never knows~