I know this blog is supposed to focus on the good and character-building issues of life, but moving is a pain. Let me tell you why–STUFF.
Stuff happens while you are not looking and invades every crack and crevasse of your life. Mostly, because it is not important, or not urgent. It slips quietly into every place of low pressure like dirt in a vacuum bag (I used to sell vacuums). Our wise ancestors had a tradition of spring cleaning to deal with this. Oh, there is the physical stuff, but we also have mental, emotional, and spiritual stuff that needs to be cleaned out from time to time too. New Years Day is no longer used to the extent it should be to take care of these problems. Today we let it build up until there is a crisis. It still needs to be dealt with.
One drastic way to accomplish this is by moving. Did I mention, "I hate moving!"? Each time I do, I vow never to do it again and then I do anyway. The longer between moves the more painful it is. This last move was after living in a home longer than any other in my married life. I found that I was doing months of family archeology as I dug deeper through the boxes of things we never unpacked during the previous move. Every scrap had a story that had never been told. I tried to piece together these things and sort them out of the meaningless piles of paper.
Unfortunately, time ran out again and though I made some progress we ended up moving boxes of stuff that had not been seen in decades. Also, precious memories were lost to weathering and disintegration. It seems more important than ever to record history in a format that will not be lost. Most of my electronic history is long gone due to upgrades and failing equipment. It is so easy to put history in digital formats, but there is a real possibility that future generations will never be able to retrieve it. Scrapbooks are better but have also had serious damage in the last 10 years. No wonder Nephi wrote important things on golden plates that would not canker over time.
Fortunately, there were angels to help us out and others to help us back into our new house and there are youngsters still at home with energy to unpack and make our new home livable. My work is still cut out for me. For a year now I have been trying to preserve stories as I am unemployed for the moment. The best solution I have used from time to time is, "deal with it the first time." Take the extra second or minute to record and discard anything that will not last. Place it in one place that will not be disturbed. Buy only things that will last over time. I will spend my remaining life cleaning up the mess my life has accumulated. The good that comes of it will be an appreciation for what matters most, in that I have a different perspective in life looking back on the wonders the Lord has worked in my development.
To all my children, if you have extra time, come over. It is fun to reminisce together over a meal. All my love. Dad
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