Letting Go, Time to Downsize

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Downsizing at the Heeter home.

By SUSAN DROMEY HEETER, Joyful Musings

Let’s face it, we’re all looking for relief.  Relief can present herself in a myriad of forms, realizing there is just enough toilet paper, learning a tumor is benign, waking up and realizing it’s Saturday.  And, for me, dear Musers, the relief I am finding these days is in the four-letter word that generally brings more angst than solace, more stress than relief: the MOVE.

My husband and I are in the middle of putting our house up for sale. The timing is right; we’re in Dover where supply is low, demand is high. We’ve been living for twenty-one years in a four bedroom house where every cranny has been filled, every inch covered with stuff. And over the past few weeks, it’s been a labor of love, sweat and tears to pack and toss, to empty out a dwelling of memories – both literal and figurative. 

But the relief.  It is both palpable and joyful. The stuff has worked well for decades but so much is whispering, “Let me goooooo.”  Yesterday I put an outdoor loveseat and chair on Facebook Marketplace.  My feed blew up with requests – “Is this still available?”  When a lovely woman came from Somersworth with her son and his partner, it was simply joy to watch them place the cushions, the chairs into their truck.  She later sent me a picture of her dog upon those cushions. I smiled, my heart was warmed thinking – oh, good, that couch is continuing the relief of a sit, of a pause, of a pooch taking a break.

Susan Dromey Heeter, Joyful Musings

It’s good to pare down; we now have eight mugs rather than forty.  We will have one table rather than four. We will lighten our load. We will be released from the weight of too many possessions, too many things.

But, dear Musers, that is not to say I am not a fan of my stuff. I LOVE my things – my shoes delight; I have too many but have no guilt in moving ALL of my footwear. And just this morning, I took a picture of my one and only ashtray. It’s from Club Paris, a restaurant in Anchorage that serves the best steaks in the world.  Do I need an ashtray? Not really, but, hey, this little piece of glass reminds me of a time in Anchorage, where my little baby girl was born, where my husband and I first lived, where I delighted in the Last Frontier.

What is your relief?  I hope today you’ll find it, whether it’s a good sneeze, finding that other sock, putting your head down on your pillow after a wonderful day.  Celebrate your relief, dear Musers, as I delight in mine. 

Susan Dromey Heeter is a writer from Dover who recently let her hair go au natural white. Writing has been her passion since her English majoring days at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.  Dromey Heeter has lived in The Netherlands, Alaska and currently basks in all things New England, including the frigid winters. An avid swimmer, Dromey Heeter’s great passion is to bring back body surfing as most children have no idea how to ride waves without ridiculous boogie boards.

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