Despite being a packrat, I've been fairly transient in my life. For example, when I was 20 or so, I applied to work for the IRS. Part of their application was the requirement that you list your addresses for the past 10 years. At that point in time, I had 14 different addresses...and only one of those was my mother's. I can't count how many times I moved between the age of 20 and the age of 39, in 1995. I've moved nine times since 1995 and I'm preparing to move again, making it 10 times in 10 years. I finally got collapsible boxes a few moves ago, so when I unpacked, they went into a closet somewhere, waiting for the next move.
I hate moving. I hate packing everything up, and taking it back down. I hate that things get broken during a move. So, the packrat in me goes through trauma with each move. And here I am again, having to sort through my books, and throwing more away. They aren't worth anything - old secretarial handbooks, for example, but I just hate having to do it.
I'm really hoping we stay in this house forever - but I know that won't happen. Part of our purpose in buying this place is to improve it, and resell it for much more than we paid for it in 5 years, or so.
Anybody else out there feel like this?
These "hates" are very short-term, however. I'll get over them soon enough, when they'll be replaced with the excitement of owning my first home, of living on a lake, learning a new town. I actually have fun getting lost in a new town...I look at it as an adventure, because you always learn about some place you might not normally have looked for. It'll be way cool, sitting on our dock at night, drinking a glass of wine, my fishing pole in the water, as I watch the sun's setting rays on the water. Every night after work will seem like a vacation, with all the stresses of the day behind me. We'll be able to open our bedroom window and listen to the water lapping on the shore.
Please God - don't let something stand in our way of owning this house.
1 comment:
While I have not moved as much as you have in my 38 years on this planet, I do understand the "discomfort" with throwing away books - no matter how insignificant they are. I just cannot do it. It goes against my grain.
However, I've been going through a purge urge lately and found that selling books on www.half.com (a division of ebay with no listing fees) works pretty well. It is not an auction but more of an inventory that you post for people to check out and buy if they want to. Half.com takes a small percentage of the sale plus compensates accordingly for postage and makes a "direct deposit" into your bank account 2x a month. I've sold 2 old college textbooks from the late 80's the first 2 days that I had them listed.
Mind you, you won't get rich, but you won't feel bad for throwing away books either.
Good luck with your move!
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