There has been a box sitting on a side table in our kitchen for over a year.
It had all the stuff that was previously on that table bundled into it as part of a whole house clean up my amazing friends did for me for Mother’s Day last year.
So I know it’s been there for a year.
The dumping ground status of the table had got to such a point I decide this weekend’s achievement would be to clear it.
As indicated by the image - there was a fair bit a crap stacked on that table.
It’s probably a good visual representation of my brain.
And yes, that’s a hockey premiership trophy - put down there in a reasonably intoxicated state after our grand final win in September ... last year.
Sorting through the table meant sorting through the box - which is UNDERNEATH all the stuff on the left hand side of the picture.
The box contained all sorts of treasures.
And I remembered WHY I had left it dormant for so long.
I’ve been able to throw out things like ‘how to’ guides from the coroners office; tear up receipts for MRIs and lumbar punctures (he was expensive to run when he was unwell!!); pack away the order of service; and put into a frame all the stuff ups of photo printings I did while trying to get an image to fit the ashes box.
But now - the box is empty.
It has been a reasonably cathartic experience.
I did it without crying. Not one tear.
It was quite a functional task actually. I feel like no crying is a good thing? I actually have no idea.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty emotionally shit. There has been lots of tears during that time.
Mother’s Day followed by another week or remote learning for all 4 kids, Pete’s birthday followed another week of all 4 kids remote learning.
Added to the mix is me trying to work from home and have a decent crack at being a decent employee, and the fact the dogs have decided to make a great game out of escaping by digging under fences.
But there have been good things, too.
Teeth braces coming off; drinks with friends; help from friends; a long overdue massage; and some wonderful laughs with the kids.
On reflection, the box probably represents our life in the last couple of weeks: there were some tough things to look at; a lot of stuff we didn’t need; memories; some lovely things; things that made me smile; things that made me remember how far we have come.
So the box is empty. The table it cleared. The filing has been filed. The children are putting away the things on there that didn’t belong there to the places where they DO belong.
And the KPI for the weekend of clearing it has been achieved...
Actually, now that I’ve move the table COMPLETELY out of kitchen dumping ground range, I might have even exceeded it.
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