I Like Pretty Things

A Confession:
My name is Violet, and I like pretty things

 

And this month I am packing up all of our belongings

for a move into a rental while we build...

where we will move again this Fall.

When things are in closets and cupboards and buffets

one forgets how many possessions one has

 

("One" meaning "Me")

Last night I had the doors to our dining buffet open

and my husband gasped at all the dishes we have.

(and this was just one pattern, if he saw all the others at once, it would be way too alarming...
4 of these, 8 of these, cute dessert plates.... T.J.Max is to blame....)

And of my china pattern, Blue Danube
I actually only bought a few.

The rest we inherited from his mother and some were given to me

from a garage sale... let's just say I have enough for a feast.

And yet we rarely (never?) have large groups for dinner

... I seem to collect pretty things ...

Dishes

Decor

Clothes

Hats, oh so many pretty hats

and

Art Supplies

As an artist and designer and creator of all sorts of

PRETTY THINGS

I've got stashes of everything I might need to make this or that

... and I have been! Even though my Etsy shop is empty at the moment ...

{I hope to get some of my new creations listed before I pack it all up}

Although we aren't downsizing by very much, and there will be

places to store all of my 'stuff', I've been considering

that I need to let go of quite a lot.

I've been to enough estate sales to realize that all of these belongings

are not permanent, and some day our family will be

going through all of this stuff I've collected

 

Maybe when one gets older we realize our time on earth,

even if we live to an old age,

is well, closer to an end than before.

Not to be morbid or anything, but it's true and we can't take any of this with us!

The treasures we take with us are those bestowed only by

God's mercy and grace,

Treasures in Heaven

that cannot rust or fade

 

Who knew packing and moving could be a spiritual experience.

 

Now, to decide just which Pretty Things I will keep

and what will be donated

(My last yard sale was years ago)

 

It's been fun procrastinating with you this morning,

but now I really must go put some things in boxes.
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P.S.  After all my good intentions,
I am having a difficult time deciding what to keep.
It seems I like my pretty things too much
to give many of them up yet.
I am weeding out the 'not so inspiring anymore' and
packing up the lovelies, perhaps when I unpack them
a few months down the road I will be able to say
goodbye to more,
but knowing how excited I get opening
the Christmas bins each December at the sight of items
not seen for months, well, you get the picture.
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{ help! }