‘Tis the Season

Sometimes, dates can be sad or sting…dates like my divorce date, tax deadline date, expiration dates…you know what I mean. Sometimes, dates are good reminders or bittersweet dates. This week is one of those…a bittersweet week!

You may remember that I was in charge of a pretty big gala at Mt. Notre Dame, my last employer. This week would be “hell” week as we called it. Gala was always the first Saturday in March. The week before was packed with the last-minute preparations, wrapping baskets, putting together auction packages, tweaking the script for the evening, and so much more. It was controlled chaos most of the time but it was my job and the hard work always paid off.

There were many wonderful people involved and I was grateful to have them on my team. It wasn’t easy but with all of the helpful hands, we put on a successful evening for Mt. Notre Dame every year.

My last Gala was a re-branded event with a new location (Kings Island) and it was almost like starting from scratch but again, it was a great night. Just one week later, everything shut down due to Covid so I was grateful that our event made it!

After I left, there was one online Gala and although in-person events were not allowed, they did the best they could and shortly after that, it was determined that it was time to close the chapter with the Gala.

It hit me this past weekend that the Gala was in the history books now and that the controlled chaos is gone, not just for me, but for MND and the wonderful parents and staff. That’s when it hit me…life is always changing, even if I don’t always notice.

A couple of weeks ago, my life was changing too. It was time for me to get real about my storage unit. The price has gone up and I don’t want to pay for it any more. It’s money that can be used for more exciting things, like fun stuff for two special little guys I know.

I decided I would fill my car with bins and then take one at a time in the house, to sort through, and move to the newest storage space in the basement. After a weekend of emptying bins, I was able to fill up a bag for donations, a bag of trash, and consolidated and labeled the other bins, ready for their new home.

You probably recall that I have been having difficulty letting go of things. That hasn’t changed, but I have gotten better trying to be more judicial on what I really need. There are still a lot of things in the storage unit, but my life has changed. I don’t know if I’ll ever need all of the Christmas decorations/trees that I still have, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever entertain the way I used to, but for now, those things are resting in the basement storage room.

My most difficult bins are still there…wedding memories, photos, engraved items, lots of knick-knacks, and more! I’ve been super busy this week so no bins have made it home, but I hope to pick up a few more on Friday so they will be here when I’m ready. I am determined that I will be finished with this storage unit within the next few weeks. Wish me luck! I know I can give up some of the things, and I will not apologize for holding on to some of the things I’m just not ready to say goodbye to.

‘Tis the season for spring cleaning and this #grownasswoman is on it! xoxoxxo