ComPact 2017 – Judicious July! - Page 8

just bee · ‎03-10-2010

@geezerette wrote:
@just bee wrote:
@rnmom wrote:
I'm very sorry to hear of everyone's recent losses. It does remind me though that life is definitely short and you never know what tomorrow will bring. Another reminder to use that favorite perfume and wear your favorite outfit and not "save" it for someday.

I'm still working on compacting but that is slow too. I've tossed pretty much all the useless items that I don't like and know I won't use, and using products up definitely takes a lot longer, but I'm still plugging along. After several years I'm almost where I want to be.
@rnmom

Why is this such a hard habit to break? Why do we still buy things we won't use?
@just bee

Why? Because that's the way we were raised, at least the way I was raised. By first-generation immigrants that started with nothing and then had to survive the Great Depression and World War II. It's ingrained in
my very soul. Anything new is for "good" only. You baby the "good" and it only becomes usable for everyday when it is stained or unrepairable. "Everyday" only gets tossed when it becomes utterly too gross for human eyes.

Pair that way of thinking with the financial ability to purchase that my parents never had and you get the makings of a hoarder. I have, or at least used to have, a fairly logical mind. But logic doesn't enter into this. It's DNA. Hard-wired. A tribute to my genes. In a way, I think I don't really want to give it up. It ties me to my past: it's just part of who I am. And as I age, my past becomes more relevant and closer.

Everything is a matter of balance. You can't live your life constantly thinking about the end of it, yet you can't let yourself succumb to the superficial. Is this purchase going to enhance my life, or is it going to be one of those things that turns into a burden that I wish I'd never gotten?

@geezerette

Wise words -- as usual.

Everything you just wrote is gospel. Better-half doesn't understand that tie to the past. He looks at that tie as an albatross around the neck. I look at it sometimes as the one thing I can hang on to and I can't afford to lose my grip.

No, it's not logical. But it is, as you say, in my soul. And I don't like pressure put on my soul.

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~

just bee · ‎03-10-2010

@geezerette wrote:
Thank you everyone for your condolences.

It strikes me as I read all these posts how similar we all are. Of course, I suppose that's why we all gravitated to this thread to begin with. I can see myself and my old geezer in so many of your responses.

We have many of our possessions because they invoke memories. Years ago when I went through the whole parent thing, my sisters and I all decided to take only a few of our parents' possessions each. Luckily we all get along so we could each choose what we wanted without a fight ensuing. We took things that we each found meaning in. I can count the number of things I have on both hands. I have them displayed in the house and look at them every day. The older I get the more meaningful those few things become to me.

The old geezer has absolutely nothing displayed from his past and wants it that way. He has even fewer "things" he treasures and those are from our life together. And if they burned up in a fire tomorrow it wouldn't bother him a bit.

Yes, life happens when you least expect it sometimes. And even when it's not a complete surprise, it still is unsettling. But it serves its purpose to keep us on track. Whittle down to what is most important to you, but don't eliminate your memories. It makes your life here easier and more meaningful. But you can't take it with you when you go.

@geezerette

How did you get so brilliant? I think you've just given us the Reader's Digest condensed version of life. That's all you need to know, really. But why is it that some know it so much sooner than others?

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~

just bee · ‎03-10-2010

On a lighter note – and there always has to be a lighter note -- Better-half’s trip to a “superior” state has resulted in a strange new appreciation of Albuquerque. He came back complaining that the people “there” are pretentious and annoying. True that. It’s the one thing I can say about Albuquerque. It can’t be accused of being pretentious.

We had lovely weather this week. When I left the house to go to work, there were days when a double rainbow stretched across the Sandias. A few days ago, hot air balloons hovered so close above me and world’s greatest dog that I thought I could stand on my toes and touch them.

Like my memories and my stuff, I hang on to these moments. Better-half is unaware of the crime spree our fair city had in his absence but why mention it now?

And this might be something @sundrops may appreciate. I found it sitting on the copier at work and brought it home to set on Better-half’s desk.

WARNING

Coyote Activity

Contact the City of Albuquerque Animal Control immediately if you observe dangerous coyote activity such as:

Coyote carrying a box marked “ACME”

Coyote dropping anvil from hot air balloon

Coyote posting signs such as “DETOUR” or “FREE BIRD SEED”

Coyote in possession of a giant magnet

Coyote in possession of a catapult

Coyote detonating dynamite/TNT

Coyote launching self with giant crossbow/slingshot

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~

geezerette · ‎03-16-2010

That is the thing about this trip called life--just when it looks like you'll never get out of the darkness, a double rainbow appears, or a coyote warning on a copier (love that!)

Just last week I was talking to a girl from Belen, NM. She is a customer service representative and I was on the phone with her for over an hour trying to get a problem resolved (don't even ask). It could have been a nightmare, but instead it was a pleasure and a wonderful break in an otherwise lousy week for me on all fronts. She was the nicest, sweetest kid and most efficient--a total surprise. It made me think of you, @just bee, and that perhaps the Albuquerque area wasn't so bad after all.

You are so right: there is always a lighter note, somewhere. Some people just can see it better than others. Maybe I need new glasses.

just bee · ‎03-10-2010

@geezerette wrote:
That is the thing about this trip called life--just when it looks like you'll never get out of the darkness, a double rainbow appears, or a coyote warning on a copier (love that!)

Just last week I was talking to a girl from Belen, NM. She is a customer service representative and I was on the phone with her for over an hour trying to get a problem resolved (don't even ask). It could have been a nightmare, but instead it was a pleasure and a wonderful break in an otherwise lousy week for me on all fronts. She was the nicest, sweetest kid and most efficient--a total surprise. It made me think of you, @just bee, and that perhaps the Albuquerque area wasn't so bad after all.

You are so right: there is always a lighter note, somewhere. Some people just can see it better than others. Maybe I need new glasses.

@geezerette

Well, sometimes we have to look really hard. I don't know about a new pair of glasses. And I definitely don't recommend a rose tint. But I do recommend taking moments in as they occur and enjoying them. They appear at the strangest times and they come for a reason.

~My philosophy: Dogs are God's most perfect creatures. Angels, here on Earth, who teach us to be better human beings.~

geezerette · ‎03-16-2010

@just bee wrote:
@geezerette wrote:
That is the thing about this trip called life--just when it looks like you'll never get out of the darkness, a double rainbow appears, or a coyote warning on a copier (love that!)

Just last week I was talking to a girl from Belen, NM. She is a customer service representative and I was on the phone with her for over an hour trying to get a problem resolved (don't even ask). It could have been a nightmare, but instead it was a pleasure and a wonderful break in an otherwise lousy week for me on all fronts. She was the nicest, sweetest kid and most efficient--a total surprise. It made me think of you, @just bee, and that perhaps the Albuquerque area wasn't so bad after all.

You are so right: there is always a lighter note, somewhere. Some people just can see it better than others. Maybe I need new glasses.
@geezerette

Well, sometimes we have to look really hard. I don't know about a new pair of glasses. And I definitely don't recommend a rose tint. But I do recommend taking moments in as they occur and enjoying them. They appear at the strangest times and they come for a reason.

See, @just bee? You're a pretty wise lady yourself. It's just always easier to advise others than to listen to that advice yourself.

You're just dealing with payback right now. Your Better-Half is going through his own emotional crisis and it's now time for you to pay him back for all the times he held your hand or head to encourage and ease your fears and frustrations, not to mention bringing you white cheddar cheese popcorn when you didn't even know you needed it.

If you think about it, how you refer to him says all you need to know. He is your "Better Half". The other half of you. Without him, you both are halves. Together you all whole.

He just needs to draw from your half right now for a while. This is why we live with each other. This is even why we all post here on occasion. Every once in a while our wells run dry and we need replenishing from another--even if it's only through cyberspace. You have just proven you have plenty of water to spare.💑