Spring Cleaning

The Children are away for tonight and tomorrow. We are cleaning out closets. I am very impressed with the progress we have made. We have 4 bags of garbage, several piles and bags for a garage sale, and a couple of bags for the thrift store. And that's just from the downstairs living room and the closet under the stairs. There were some boxes under there that I have not opened in several years. Going through them without all the insane attachments to stupid things yielded 2 trash bags from 2 boxes. Now only one box is full, and I can probably get rid of some more, but my eyes are tired. One box had all my college notebooks, and since I had the habit of scribbling poetry, stories, and letters in my notebooks, I have to go through every page. I have a lot of letters I never sent, so those are like the diary of my life. I am very tired, but it is the good tired of knowing you have accomplished something significant.

But it is emotionally draining to go through my stuff. Splitcat and I were fairly prolific writers during our dating years, so I have to stop and read letters every once in a while. I found in one notebook where 4boymom and I were writing notes at a particularly horrific youth retreat. My brother-in-law was trying to get her and splitcat together. I think she was the first person I told that I "had feelings" for him. They did eventually go on a couple of "outings" with my sister and brother-in-law. Fortunately for 4boydad and I, it didn't work out. (Here is some fun trivia. Splitcat and 4boydad have been friends since their early teens and were roommates in college. I have known 4boymom since I was 13 and her sister(we'll call her 3girlmom) was my college roommate.) Anyway, it was strange reading about what I thought was hopeless love. I was 17, he was 23. And we were "just friends." Now we have been married ten years and have oodles of children(or rather will have). And I have about 20(ok, I counted there are 15) plastic boxes piled around my living room(the miracle is that 5 of them are empty). Most of them filled with baby and toddler clothes. At least the twins will have clothes. The scary thing is how much baby stuff I have given away and how much remains.

Well, it's 1:39 am and my eyes are itching and tired, so I'd best be off to bed. I've a lot to do tomorrow before the children return. We have to hide all the toys we are selling or giving away.