Milizlinx

Now the summer is coming to an end, our time in Ottawa seems suddenly so short. I bump up against reminders all the time now. Harvesting our tiny garden, my thoughts run to spring and what I'll do different next year to ensure better harvest - and realize there won't be a next year garden here, at least not planted my me. Watching Grace learn to peddle the tricycle, I plan for next summer when she can actually peddle to the park - and remember that we won't be anywhere near this park or her tricycle next summer. Time to think about packing away summer clothes, toys, accessories? Instead of thinking about where and how to store, I have to puzzle through what to bother keeping and how to pass on the rest.

So I find myself already thinking and planning about our coming departure: shelving books according to what I think we'll keep, jotting down a growing list of what needs to be done to the house before we leave, preparing mental lists of things to give away and to whom, trying to slowly sift through and reduce accumulated clutter, cleaning a little more thoroughly in anticipation of moving out, and mulling over the never ending dilemma of stuff: store and hope its on the right side of the world when you need it or give away/sell and buy again when you need it.
Will I ever settle this dilemma for my family? Things we have stored have yet to be in the right place at the right time, and I hate the thought of useful stuff sitting around waiting for my maybe return. Yet, things we have sold/given away and needed again, I've felt slightly not-right about the "waste" of having bought and re-bought the same item over and over! And then there is the whole world of memories and "old friend"-ness of keeping items given by friends and family or ones used for years... A balance of the two? Sounds good, but then you have the unravelable quandary of what to store and what to pass on!
Here I am, at it again! Perhaps a bit too early (we've at least 4 months left); my excuse is if Christmas is to be near the end of our stay here, I want to be on top of sorting/packing/etc. enough to enjoy Christmas!