Minimalism

 I get bored and lazy sometimes and watch you tubes on TV. A while ago I got hooked on minimalist videos. You might think I've come into this trend late, but actually I have been getting rid of things for years. It is so satisfying to get rid of extra stuff laying around that it is pretty addictive. 

When we were young we moved several times, and wherever we went was small. Hence, I learned a long time ago about downsizing. Some people make decent money selling off their extra belongings, but not me. I am way too impatient to sit around waiting for someone willing to take this junk off my hands. 

I love giving things away. If I can find anyone I know to "bless" with my offscourings, so much the better. Most moms are involved in hand-me-down activities, especially homeschool moms, although many homeschoolers try and sell their leftovers at curriculum sales each spring. I tried this once, and it was a big bummer. 

People kept asking me about stuff I had never used, which was a bit disconcerting. Also, one lady was begging me to take a check. No way--even though she was my biggest customer. She was buying a trendy (and expensive) Spanish program that we had abandoned...She ended up paying me with fistfuls of quarters and dollar bills. Too bad she didn't wait me out. I ended up marking down everything to "FREE." I just wanted to get out of there. 

The one time in my life I had a garage sale was about the same. Nowadays I save time and just give away or donate everything. It is delightful. Sometimes I miss the things I got rid of. I have made mistakes. But the funny thing is that in the long run I don't need them. 

My parents had a whole lot of stuff when they passed away. Well, they had lived in that house almost 50 years. That definitely didn't help. The odd thing was, they didn't really care about material possessions. They cared about working. They loved to work, and they loved the people they worked with. 

I think probably they were too busy living their lives to minimalize their stuff. So I did it for them, after they were gone. It was hard, but I'm good at it. I miss them so much.

Faith That Moves Pianos

 In my previous post, I explained how it came to be that we had two pianos in our little bungalow many years ago. In thinking it over later, I realized that some of the details were incorrect. However, it doesn't really change the story so I'll let it be.

Our house had two bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen, dining room, and living room. All the rooms were small and square. There would have been no room for even one piano, except that a previous owner had enclosed the front porch. This made the originally square living room into in "L" shape. The two pianos occupied the long part of the "L."

It was kind of fun having two pianos, although they were just a teensy bit out of tune with each other. My son and I would play things like "The Merry Farmer" together on both pianos. It was a good time. I don't remember exactly why I decided to get rid of one of the pianos. I think it was because we wanted to turn part of the enclosed porch into a tiny extra room.

One day shortly after I had decided this, my husband, Ron, was on the phone with his friend, Marty. Marty could hear me playing piano in the background and mentioned that his wife, Julie, wanted to get a piano. Ron told Marty that we wanted to sell one of our pianos. Apparently, Marty told his wife this. She then told him, immediately, that she wanted to buy our piano.

I was a bit surprised about this and told Ron to ask if they wanted to come see the piano first. They did not. Julie said that she had prayed about wanting to get a piano, and when ours came up soon after, she considered it her answer. This was her piano. No questions asked.

That was nearly 30 years ago. I still think of Julie and her faith--trusting that our piano was an answer to her simple prayer. I would love one day to be like that, and to graciously, thankfully, without questioning and hand-wringing, receive the many gifts that are placed right in front of me all the time.