I have one more semester of student teaching at Somerset this fall. Fifteen periods of Middle School Physical Education, eight hours of credential classes at CSU Stanislaus, coaching gymnastics, and whatever else needs to get done each week. After graduation in December I will be moving to Ukiah where Laura took a teaching job for this fall.
This is the first time that I'll really be moving. I moved from my parents house to an apartment to here (less than five miles away). But that doesn't really count. Things moved gradually. I got most things the first time around but three years later mom is still finding things that belong to me... and amusingly I'm still returning things that belong to her. I still get groceries from the same store, go to the same church, hang out with the same people. It's different to move away. The realization of starting a life in a new place hasn't really begun to affect me yet, however, the realization that I have to decide what to take, what to leave, what to throw away, and what to give away definitely has.
I've been packing and organizing and packing and organizing. I've realized how many collections I have. I just boxed up over 400 pounds of National Geographic Magazine. I have a coin collection, pez dispensers, trading card games (magic, pokemon, star wars, etc.), stamp collection, book collection, and I'm sure there is more. I have always had this desire to simplify and get rid of things and yet I still have mounds of material possessions. I'm trying to get rid of some of it. I'm selling my windsurfing board, struggling with what to do with my record player, getting rid of duplicate National Geographics, reducing my coin collection (it's compact but extremely heavy), considering passing my stamp collection on to someone else, and trying to decide which two trading card games I want to keep.
In addition to all of my collections, I have several boxes filled with sentimental stuff that I just can't seem to part with. I get rid of one or two things each time I do a thorough cleaning but the supply doesn't seem to get any smaller. The last two weeks I did the garage sale thing with Laralyn and sold a few things including my gymnastics warm-ups and a leotard which I was never going to wear again, my one lone my little pony, and a beading loom. In one sense it hurts to let them go but it's nice to know that they are being enjoyed instead of packed in boxes.
A friend of mine recommended getting a storage unit and putting everything in there when we move. He reasoned that if you take things out as you need them, then after a year you would know what you really need and what you should get rid of. The problem is I know that I don't need it. Most of the stuff I haven't touched since high school except to take out, look at, tell myself I should get rid of it, and place it nicely back in the box. But I still feel like I'll need a train to take all of these boxes if I can't start to let go.
