My December to Remember: Day Seven
News: Trump in Paris for reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral.
NYC authorities say they’re “closing in” on gunman who shot UnitedHealthcare CEO dead.
Paul Krugman retiring from New York Times.
Syrian opposition fighters close in on Damascus.
FDA ordered by federal judge to disclose millions of documents related to authorization of covid-19 vaccines.
My father has been in Florida for about a month now. He’s been doing the “Dean Martin thing” where he’s basically couch surfing at his friends’ houses. Everyone from the old neighborhood bought homes on the Gulf long ago, and they’ve been urging him to come see the Sunshine State for some time. Now that it’s cold up in the northeast, it’s only natural he wants to warm up near the beach, and having his friends down there is a perfect way to rest, relax, and rejuvenate before the holidays.
That leaves my boyfriend and I to take care of the Jersey house while he’s gone. It’s fine, we don’t mind, but there’s so much to do inside. Last year I cleared out the hoarded third room, which took a few months to see the floor in its entirety. But I worked hard and got rid of a lot of stuff. That room got filled up again pretty quick recently, as my boyfriend and I cleared out Dad’s storage unit to save him some money each month. Everything in there, mostly my stuff as it turns out, now has taken over two rooms upstairs. So there’s a lot more to do in order to return things to their semi-organized glory.
Now that everything my family owns is in one place, the daunting task of organizing and reorganizing is up next. We decided things should be going into four categories: keep, throw out, donate, or sell. I got into the DVDs yesterday, parsing out what we could take to the Princeton Record Exchange to try and sell. All my childhood toys are still in good condition and there’s things to save for nostalgia purposes, but a great majority can be donated to the upcoming Visiting Nurse’s Association rummage sale. Knowing they’ll at least be going to a good place is all I need in order to let go. However, my boyfriend and I are hoping my dad has the same sentiments about taking inventory of all we have, and will work just as hard as us to clear it out when he revisits his stuff too.
It’s not that we don’t think he can do it. He’s got organization skills. It’s that he’s 81-years-old, and when he doesn’t feel like working, he doesn’t. Still, he keeps saying he’s not going to be around forever, and knows he can’t take anything with him. So finishing his vision of a fully refurbished home will take a lot more effort than what’s currently being put out.
If my boyfriend had it his way, he’d pitch absolutely everything in one go. And though I get the sentiment, it’s not necessary. Buckling down and dedicating the time to doing it is the only way to get things done.Things may not be perfect and there’s still a lot of work to do on the house, but at least we an get closer to rendering things acceptable, as well as lifting the mental burden brought on by simply too much stuff.
There are some regenerative projects that involve a reset, a change in direction that isn’t guaranteed to succeed, but is better than whatever is currently in place. We don’t need to go scorched earth on this operation. Just a little elbow grease and some gumption to make things better. I’m on board. My boyfriend is willing to help. One more addition to the dynamic and our recovery project may actually be completed one of these lifetimes. I’m hopeful in seeing it through. Next stop: the garage.
