This has been a good weekend day. I am tired, but as is often the case these days, it is a good tired. I allowed myself to sleep in until 8 o’clock this morning, rising and writing in my journal, having my coffee before puttering around for a little bit. Because the weather was supposed to be nice this weekend, I purposed in my mind that I was going to rake the leaves out of my yard. I had noted that the county had posted a notice saying that they’d be around to pick up the leaves if they were raked down to the street. Cool! They didn’t do that where I was from back in Michigan, the last place I lived where I had a large enough lawn to have to deal with leaves.
I raked for about 45 minutes to an hour or so, then realized that what I thought said November 12 on the flyer was actually November 17 when they’d be coming for the leaves. Oh good, I could put off raking the other half of the yard until tomorrow. I had worn myself out with the raking (I must be really out of shape) and still had a bunch of work to do in the house. My eldest sister was returning to help me with more unpacking so I wanted to preserve a little energy for that effort. If it was going to be anything like last weekend when she helped me, we’d work our butts off but get a lot done. It was exactly like last weekend, with a bit less decorating and a lot more unpacking.
I owe a big debt of gratitude to my sister, who provide the right mixture of cajoling, encouraging and occasionally downright ruthlessness in helping me determine the dispensation of various boxes in my guest room (which I’d come to refer to as the “box room.”) We either unpacked or stored anywhere from 15 to 20 boxes, removing the bulk of them either to the attic or into closets in the various rooms. Thanks to her I have unpacked more and sooner than I have in many, many years, some of those items seeing the light of day for the first time in 10, 15, maybe even 20 years. Some of my knick knacks, my dad’s old microscope (which really hasn’t been out of the box or case it was in for 20 years), jigsaw puzzles, my telescope all found their way out of boxes and into the house somewhere.
I a grateful for my sister’s persistence in pushing me to “get this stuff out of the box” or throw it away. I am a pack rat by nature and tend to keep things long past when I should have let them go. I do still have things that I need to sort through, and I did hang onto a number of things that have sentimental if not practical value. But I have far, far fewer boxes and things to deal with than I had were it not for Michaele. I am keenly aware too of the power of having help; even the physical presence of someone else there, working alongside me allows me to get so much more accomplished than I did by myself. As I think back on my last few months in California, I spent hour after hour on my own packing up my condo and attending to the myriad details of preparing myself to move. There were times I longed for someone to be there helping me with that process, helping make decisions of what to keep and what to give away, packing up boxes, and just plain keeping me company as I worked. I appreciated my sister’s presence as well as her help, suggestions, and hard work. Yep, I definitely owe her one, or two…
Tomorrow I still have things to do, but my to-do list got a little bit shorter because of what I was able to get done today. I wish there were something I could do for my sister in return for her help today. When I asked her if I could come help her with a project she’s undertaking on her house tomorrow, she declined. Perhaps it’s a big sister-kid sister thing: big sisters help out little sisters but it doesn’t work the other way around. I’m not sure she subscribes to that notion, but I suspect she does. That’s alright, I can be pretty sneaky and will be keeping careful watch for ways to give back as best I can.
I continue to be grateful to be living close to my sisters. I have seen my eldest sister more in the past month than I did all of last year. It has been delightful. I look forward to spending time with her that doesn’t involve her working at my house (though I think she gets a kick out of arranging knick knacks on shelves, etc.) I expect I’ll see one or both of my other sisters yet this weekend, which also makes me very happy. I am tired, achy and sort, but overall I have to say that life is good. And for that I am grateful.
