No, I didn't fall off the wagon already. I went into a thrift store for a friend that was having trouble finding brown pants for her son to wear in a school play. Her time was running out. She needed to find dark brown pants for his "tree" costume. Since I enjoy the thrill of finding just the right thing, I thought I would pop into one of my old stores. What I found, was that I can go into a thrift store and buy nothing! I looked for the pants and wasn't successful. I did walk around the store, but only for about 1 minute. I felt good walking out with nothing. This is the complete opposite of the reaction I had in the past. If I left a thrift store with nothing, prior to my year without buying anything, I would have felt despair. I am growing and realizing I don't need all the stuff to be happy. Also, in the past I would have traveled all around the city looking for the illusive brown pants. Today, I chose not to waist my time. That's real growth for me!
Instead, today, I took a long walk (about 40 minutes) with my dad. It had been so long since I had an uninterrupted, serious conversation with him. It was so refreshing and renewing. It felt good to be outside getting some exercise and reconnecting with my dad. We are around each other a minimum of once a week. However, I didn't realize before today, how little we really talk. The kids always seem to have a way of preventing deep connections.
On that note, I am going to make a conscious effort to really connect with some other mothers this year. I also want to spend more time with relatives. There are so many great people in my life that I would like to get to know. I think, it will provide much more fulfillment than the next, new, THING.
Following my walking high, I was able to come home and start de-cluttering the kitchen pantry. It had been a source of embarrassment to me. I used to hope I didn't have to open it when friends or even the children's friends were at our home. I found some things that made others happy today. I gave a coffee can to Michelle. She makes drums out of them for her music students. I found 5 or 6 Pringles cans to give to Gwen at church, who is collecting them for a VBS craft project. Julie received some old safety bumper pads. Mrs. Roberts, (Bryn's Kindergarten teacher next year) got some goodies to put in her store. There are a few more items I am going to part with as well. I also found a considerable amount of trash. It felt good to let some stuff go!
So today, instead of walking out of my thrift store with a material object, I found a great deal more: self-satisfaction, energy, renewal and a different kind of high! I think this one will last a lot longer and propel me forward instead of dragging me down!
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Good for you! You are inspiring me, though it may not be obvious. I agree that the high of getting rid of stuff, and finding more breathing space around the house can trump the high of accumulating more stuff. I also applaud investing in human relationships over things.
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