Life Changes

I’ve eaten a lot of baby cucumbers lately. I hide and eat them because my 3.5 year old loves to steal them off my plate. My 1.5 year old likes to take slices and only take one bite from them before throwing them. This is a craving that hit me out of no where. I had this craving with my son but it was mostly in the beginning. We’re in the second half of pregnancy number three and baby boy loves these like his brother did. It’s amazing the amount of life changes one can be hit with at one time.

In April I had a birthday, reached the half way point of my pregnancy, moved to a bigger place, and lost my job. These life changes have a way of forcing you to look at your life. For instance, I was reminded how much I want to become a writer. I never forgot how much I hated moving but I was reminded how much stuff we have that we don’t need. As I’m unpacking I’m putting a lot of things in the donate and throw away piles. I threw away a stack of business cards and my husband asked if I wanted to keep them for memories – hard pass. It’s refreshing to minimize the “stuff” in your life. Be it physical, mental, emotional, or everything in between. I found out I was holding onto a lot more than just physical trinkets and trash.

What has run its course in your life? What are you holding onto? I remember when I switched to a new phone I decided not to transfer the contacts automatically. Instead I looked at each name and number individually. If I didn’t remember who the person was, delete. Didn’t talk anymore? Delete. Negative association? Delete. You may not know this but I have a very hard time letting go of things. Be it people, pictures, or random screws I’ve stuffed into our junk drawer, I’m always asking what if. What if that person changes their mind and decided to be good to me? What if I forget what this random rock look like? What if every hardware store goes under and this one screw will help me fix something that needs fixing? I’ve never used the button or thread that comes with clothing and yet I have them randomly in my things. Life changes. You change. I’ve changed. Sometimes life events speed up the process.

We downsized a bit before our move, we continue to downsize more now. I think I’ll be unpacking forever some days but at the same time it’s nice to say “no, I don’t need it anymore”.

What are you holding onto? Life has a way of pushing you to make the changes your dragging your feet on. You don’t need a birthday, a move, a career change, or a change in family size to let go. Life is short but the list is long. Let go.