How Many Boxes??!!

Moving day was quite the build up for the Barefoot Hoarder.  I under estimated in a big way!  Perhaps, it was denial.  Perhaps, it was an unconscious desire to keep things just they way they were.  It was as if my brain was telling me, "Don't move.  Don't deal with it.  You don't have to."  I guess I really didn't have to.  I could have stayed in the same place.  I could have continued to struggle financially and worry about the foundation of the house and if I would be able to pay for it.  I could have continued to not sleep at night because I was alone in the country with no street lights.  I could have continued to be far away from my loved ones, but none of that was healthy for me.  I needed to be around people, whether I wanted to admit or not.

I needed my loved ones. and they were about 2 hours away from me.  They had their own lives filled with basketball games, grandchildren and pets.  Me?  I had lots of fabric.  I attended a painting class, which I was not any good at, but I at least met some wonderful people out in the country.  I attended a church that helped me heal from my divorce.  It is a time in my life that I will never forget.  There were wonderful moments under the Texas sky, and there were other moments.

The movers came and were very thorough.  My loved ones came the day before and found I had not packed everything.  I guess I thought it would fly to my new apartment or maybe part of me didn't want to leave.  My new life was waiting for me in the apartment that was 2 hours away.  As the movers brought the boxes in, I asked them how many boxes there were.  The older mover said, "About 150".  I looked at him and smiled.  I just knew he was trying to be funny.  I asked the second mover the same question.  He said, "About 140".  I said, "You guys are kidding?!!"  They didn't laugh.  They were the ones carrying the boxes, not me.  My heart rate began to soar.  I was going to have to deal with my problem.  After giving two truckloads of items to the Salvation Army and Goodwill, I STILL had 150 boxes in 800 square feet of a one bedroom apartment.

THAT IS WHAT HOARDING DOES!  It robs you of potentially wonderful moments.  Moments that could be used to visit your neighbor or a lonely woman in a nursing home.  It robs you of reading meaningful books to children.  Compulsive shopping robs you of time.

I've given away several more boxes and bags of fabric, and I'm working on a new stage of life - a life with people in it, instead of things.  That's the only way to live.