Dreary Weather in Seattle!

Well, we have been here in the Seattle area now for a month and the sun has made an appearance about 6 days out of the month!! It has not rained every day, but the clouds make the days dreary and depressing. That is why we moved away from here and hit the road……..searching for sunshine all year round!

But we have managed to stay busy in spite of the weather. Before we got here we stopped in Lewiston, ID and checked out the storage unit that we have been paying rent on since we left……….what a surprise! We had forgotten what was actually stored there, after all we were only going on a 2 year trip and then we would need all that stuff to set up a ‘stick’ home again. But as you know our 2 year trip became 8 years and shows no signs of stopping any time soon, so now what to do with all that ‘stuff’!!!!

One of our kids met is there with a truck and trailer, as well as friends who live in the area, to help us figure out what to sell, give or throw away. We wanted to keep a few of the things to use in our small Texas winter home so we left those in the storage unit until we head south again and managed to find homes for most of the other stuff.

In addition to the things the kids wanted to keep, we loaded the many boxes filled with my pottery and books which I had collected for many years on the trailer and brought them over here to where we are ‘summering’ to be sorted out. It’s a good thing we did as today was the day to sort…….and it proved to be an emotional day for me.

As I said I had collected the hand-thrown pottery over many years and as I unpacked each piece it was like a trip down memory lane as I remembered when and where each piece was obtained. But now I have no room for a collection this large, so most of it will be divided among the kids and I will keep a few of the most precious pieces for myself to be admired in our Texas winter home.

The books were not the same problem, while I had read them all and enjoyed them I had no problem parting with them. So tomorrow the Black Diamond Library will be the recipient of 3 large boxes of books, some current, some classics…..a very eclectic collection.

As I sat sorting out those precious items from my past, it occurred to me how life changes as we age. All of our younger years are spent working to build a home and surround ourselves with all the possessions we are sure we need. Then we reach that magical age of retirement only to find that we no longer need most of those possessions and they really don’t mean anything to us anymore.

One of the biggest discoveries we made out here on the road is that we really need very little in the way of possessions to be happy. We have each other, we have our health and we have our little home on wheels with the United States as our yard in which to play. We have a place in Texas to stay warm in the winter and a place here in the Seattle area to visit all the kids and get away from the Texas heat.

So parting with my pottery really wasn’t such a big thing after all, because I still have the memories………..!!!!!

Just Us Kids…………