Spring cleaning, a bit late

I find myself again, today, trying to unclutter. I have so much to do today, in my mind, orders to do, and projects to finish.  But as I was sitting in the living room/office yesterday, my A D D mind had a brain storm. A brain storm?!!  or at least what I thought, at the moment, was a brain storm.

We had turned our living room into an office years ago when my husband was working from home. Years after he  left the comfort of home to go work in a "Real Office" with "Real People", that office room is still there. Lots going on in there. I have invaded it with my printer and my piles of things to do. When I am picking up other rooms, that is the catch all room. I have" neat" piles of clutter in there and under things! I really don`t  usually notice it too much but yesterday, I was actually sitting at his desk and my eyes started to wonder around the room. You see, I am usually in my little corner in there with my giant printer and don`t get the full perspective of the organized clutter tucked around the room. But.... yesterday it all just came tumbling down on me... CLUTTER!!! I am so tired of clutter. I don`t like it anymore. I want to get rid of it. I had vowed to myself to take one room at a time this summer and clean up and out. And now, half the summer is over and I have only done my closet, which is a bit cluttered again since the decluttering day(!!) and part of the garage.

I was certain Tom wouldn`t see the urgency in making a big mess and moving things around so I got him out the door this morning, early,  and then started in full speed ahead. Well, not really full speed but a speed comfortable to me!!  What to do first? Where to start? Decisions, decisions.....

I started one shelf at a time.... We have 4 shelves in the hallway that I told myself were not really needed there. I really didn`t want to spend money to get new ones when we had those and after all, I was trying to declutter not buy new things to bring into the house to take up room... Only problem with those shelves.....???? You guessed it, they were full of clutter. So in order to take them in the office to use to get rid of clutter on the floor and all around in there... I have to empty them and find a place for the old clutter. Shelf by shelf, I removed all the things that I had lovingly collected or inherited, and stacked them on the floor. Then...... got my trusty moving pads out and moved those babies, one by one, into the office. Oh, of course, I had to get that wall ready for them in the office and that wall just so happened to have a very large collection of pictures hanging all over it. So, off came the pictures...... Anyway, you get the real picture of the preparation going on...

What took me a bit longer was a cabinet in the book shelf had a very large collection of craft books that I have had forever!! They were in there because I didn`t want to get rid of them. I thought I might use them one day. Well, I haven`t but before I could decide what to do with them today, I had to go through each one to be sure it wasn`t needed now or in the future.!!  I did manage to put over half of them in the Good will box, but saved another half, just in case!! By now, my back is hurting from sitting on the floor for an hour going through these silly books!! But I push on and finally get it all pretty organized. I hope Tom doesn`t mind that I picked up his stuff in the process and tucked it neatly in draws and shelves. Hopefully, he can find it pretty easily!!

Proud to say at this moment that the office is done. Even took a picture to show Tom at work. "Surprise" it said under the caption. He immediately wrote back and said it looked great. He hoped I didn`t move it all by myself.. HUH??? oh forgot the little elves that came over to help me get it all done!!

But now, I am left with some clutter and some not clutter that I gotta figure out what to do with !! But for the time being, the dining room table will have to do!   In looking through some of the books that I pulled out,  I flipped through lots of pages, trying to find where they needed to go. Of course, as I usually do, I found a special one that Mother had given me. Makes all the work worth while if..... I get a little glimpse of her through doing it....

This particular book was just signed to Jane , By Mom.... The title of the book" For my daughter"
As I open it up, I find it is full of poems and sayings. The first page talks about the parent/daughter relationship.... "The relationship that exists between a parent and his or her daughter is a powerful and unique bond. The effect that relationshp has on both the parent and the daughter is deep and lasting, yet the very essence of the relationship is often misunderstood"

Interensting, I thought... MISUNDERSTOOD? I read on....

It goes on to say that being a parent is a rewarding yet very difficult task as is being a good daughter. No schools to prepare for these roles, they must learn as they go. They WILL make mistakes. It begins with deep mutual love and admiration. As each begins to grow in their role, they begin to realize that the other has faults and weaknesses. There are periods where the goals, desires and attitudes of one may seem foreign to the other. It is the degree of understanding that determines the effectiveness of our relationships, understanding each other,. understanding misunderstandings. Only way to truly understand is to communicate.

This book is filled with feelings that most parents have, feelings that are not always expressed, it says
Who wrote this book? I wonder...I looked at the front and it is  guy!! He says on the front cover that  "If we are judged by the deeds of the child we bear, then I shall truly be a king when judgement day is here."

I love that guy! I think he surely was a wise man and a dear father to his daughter.

I think to myself and wonder, if Mother read these to herself as she was thinking about buying the book at the book store. I only remember being sweet and kind, (??!!) growing up and wonder if she thought these things about me?  Ha, I actually am quite sure I gave her a few days of worry. I do remember a few times being disrespectful but my Daddy put a stop to that real quick if you know what I mean!! But seriously, as I think back to my teenage years and the times I probably wasn`t so fun to be with ... what was she thinking?  How did it make her feel? I was so preoccupied with myself and what I needed or wanted...Did she go to bed defeated and sad, and wondering if we would be friends one day?

I will never know her thoughts but thankful that God did allow us to become best friends, and that she had such a special place in my heart.

So, I close with sharing the first poem in the book titled simply...

"Your Friend"
Sometimes it`s hard to write the words
that you, my dear should see
or say the things you need to hear
or be as I should be

you grow so fast and learn so much
its hard for me each day
to say or do just what is best
to help along the way

Should I be silent or give advice?
Should I answer yes or no?
Should I have control, set many rules,
or simply let you go?

One thing is certain, I`ll make mistakes
and some will seem hard to mend
but if nothing else seems clear right now,
please know that I`m your friend.

Now, on to the remaining clutter. what to do? what to do?
Oh I know, I will wait for those little elves to come, then we can do the rest of it together!!

Have a great week,
Love,
Jane