Yeah, I know the title is short but the only other option was “Go getteth mine stuffeth!”
Of course, that would have been both improper and nonsensical 😉
And so…
Here goes…
I’ve been thinking about stuff lately.
No…I’m not talking about big stuff like houses and cars, I’m talking about little stuff like:
That figurine of a bearded alpine man in lederhosen leaning on a walking stick
The ceramic Raggedy Ann that holds a hodge-podge of unused cooking utensils
The glass genie lamp lighter that stopped lighting things some 35 years ago
The Aztec blanket from Cancun that really isn’t that comfortable
And the five hundred zillion other things that so many of us have bursting out of our closets, garages, rooms, shower stalls, storage houses, PODS…and so forth.
Uh, I’m sure by now that you’re wondering where I’m going with this crazy diatribe.
Well, all of this talk of stuff is the direct result of the fact that, lately, we’ve experienced and witnessed a great deal of loss including a Godfather and the beloved fiancé of one of my oldest and dearest friends.
And with that comes thoughts of stuff and the tasks associated with dealing with a person’s property after they die.
How does that all work?
Well, typically, a family member or a close friend has to decide how to appropriate or dispose of these things.
Trust me, it ain’t an easy job.
In fact, I very clearly remember sorting through all of my mother’s things after she passed away.
There I was, sitting on the closet floor, looking at my Mama’s winter coat thinking, “But I need to keep this, she’ll need it for the cold.”
No doubt, I’d temporarily forgotten to remember that Mama no longer needed anything anymore.
Ah, but when I did remember to remember, I immediately started to cry and my mind began to wander to the day when someone would have to go through my stuff and decide what to do with it.
Within an instant, oodles of clothes and shoes and books and what-nots flashed in my mind’s eye.
And then…
I “saw’ all of my journals and diaries.
Who would be looking through that?
My hopes, dreams, and confessions!
And it hit me!
I need a plan…lest my sensitive, private and confidential thoughts come out of the dark 😉
Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing diabolical in there but some things need to remain unread and unspoken—they’re just too personal.
Anyway, back to my story…
That day, after exiting Mama’s closet, I decided that I needed to hand-select someone to go get my stuff after I die.
Someone trustworthy.
Oh! But what happens if that person dies before I do?
What to do?
What to do?
What to do!?
LOL!
Ironically, I remember comedian-disc jockey, Tom Joyner rhetorically asking, “Who went to get Bob Hope’s private stuff?”
No, seriously…
Who?
Well, that got me thinking some more.
Maybe I should start paring down and destroying some of this stuff BEFORE I die.
I mean, do I really need all of this junk anyway?
Hey, God already knows about the other part.
LOL!
What do you think?
I know that it’s not necessarily a pleasant thing to ponder but, I ask, who’ll be sorting through your stuff once you’ve taken a “celestial discharge?”
Meet me in comments…Let’s discuss.