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Previous posts on the Pile of Sticks Series were written when the wounds were fresh and the ideas were rough edged. I sit here now, removed from the actual moves 4 months, and it has gotten better. We still have some things in boxes in the garage that we will get to sometime soon. We still have a few things in storage at my Mother in Law’s house, Things that we will not be using anytime soon, like our kitchen sink.
I will be trading the lawn mower for the snow blower soon, not being able to store both at this new house. The good news is, there are no other storage units. We have downsized, cleaned out and restarted so many things now. I have finally gotten rid of all the empty boxes and garbage from the move as well.
We are finally getting the house organized in a manner that works for us. We are figuring out how to live in the place again, and how to make everything work. Just tonight I had to find my cable that hooks my computer to the TV so we can watch some stuff over the internet. We have everything, it is just a matter of finding some of it. Some things may never be found, or they may be in the few boxes left in the garage. Some things we may never miss. It is a good thing to purge much of this out of our lives.
We are now looking ahead for Christmas and all of the materialistic madness that it entails. We are purging some of the kids old toys that we have hung onto for years. Some things that they just don’t play with, some that are broken, and some they have just grown out of. I am getting ready to put some of it up on eBay to make come coin for new toys to replace them when Santa comes.
But through everything we are still doing well as a family. There will always be money issues, I don’t know that we will ever be totally caught up until I either get my book sold or we win the lottery. Just FYI, there is no lottery in Utah so I had better get writing.
We all have discovered that whatever happens or wherever we are our home is with the family. It has always been a cliche, or just something that people have said but it is true, the pile of sticks you live in is only a pile of sticks until you make it a home. We have a home. We have a community around us with our church that is very supportive. My parents still are not very supportive, my dad still hasn’t been to our house. That is another post though.
This week we are looking forward to Thanksgiving in only a week and watching the weather closely, trying to decide when to hang the Christmas lights before the snow hits. I finished decorating last year in a blizzard. But we needed a wreath in the alcove. Planning a big holiday dinner and gearing up for the holidays are more things that make a pile of sticks a home. The kids love it, and of course I do as well.
The wife and I have always decorated for holidays, even in our crappy first apartment we had lights up. We decorate for Halloween with as much gusto as Christmas. Easter gets a turn, as does St. Patricks Day, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving. Those traditions are things that make a home. The kids remember what we had out last year, they remember the things that Grandma has made for us to put out. It doesn’t matter where they are displayed.
So, all in all, the saga of the Sticks is over for now. We are settled into a new pile and we are going to stay for a year or two. We may never get through all of the boxes, or find some things that we have been looking for, but we have enough. We have our family and the basics. We have gotten over giving up the dog and the fish. We are at peace with everything except the bank. (this is a good place for a blatant hint to use my affiliate link if you need anything from Amazon. just look over there in the sidebar)
Now, I need to get back on a schedule, and get my writing back on track, as well as my business. You know those commercials that says “Life comes at you fast”? It is true. It comes fast, but can be handled.
Have a great day, or else.
-Justin
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