Joy of Sharing

An interesting part of my discernment journey has been observing my own reactions to having less stuff. If you’ve been following my blog, you know how I’m on a never ending kick to simplify. I’m a recovering pack rat from a family of pack rats. I’ve got a lot of random crap and some nice things, but a long way to go to simplicity.

For our parish rummage sale, I donated some nice things that meant a lot to me at one point. A lot of my mom’s costume jewelry (I kept some choice pieces to give to nieces over the years and a few sentimental ones for me), her clothes, some of my grandma’s china/tea cups and knick knacks, my Star Wars Collection, a good chunk of my CD’s. etc…. It was a relief to get it out of the house and have me one step closer to where I need to be eventually.

What surprised me was the joy I felt seeing people buy my stuff, especially my mom’s pieces. I was the cash lady (5 years as a K-Mart Cashier have paid off with this sale) so I saw most things on their way out the door. When someone was buying a piece of my mom’s, I’d tell them. Mom had good taste – her jewelry went early. When I’d say, "Oh good, you got this piece. It was my mom’s" they’d get a genuinely happy look on their face. I loved that! And when I said she’d love it that someone who appreciated it had x it was true. My friend Jackie picked out an especially cool beaded purse. She was psyched to later learn it was my mom’s.

I’m in a really good mood. Partly because with one more day of the sale to go, we’ve raised $3,200 for the parish already!! But also because this was a really pleasant way to say good bye to some of my "treasures." I enjoyed seeing them go to new homes.

Still haven’t had a chance to see Star Wars but I’m too tired. I might pop Empire Strikes back into the VCR and fall asleep on the couch … more rummaging bright & early in the morning to look forward too. There’s still some more of my stuff to say goodbye to.