Holding On To Letting Go

Have you ever been to the point in your life when you say firmly and aloud, "It's time for me to let go."

I have.

But unfortunately that tiny, yet persuasive, voice inside me decides to run her mouth and the next thing I know I'm still holding on to letting go. 

And the letting go never happens. 

I once heard of a gal who others called a "minimalist" - I had to look up that term. Turns out they do exist. 

I'm not one of them. 

Anyhow, she kept only one of everything in her kitchen. 

One spatula. 

One dishrag. 

One skillet. 

One pie plate. 

One mixing bowl. 

I had to look her up on Facebook. 

She appeared happy and real. 

But Manti Teʻo's girlfriend apeared happy and real on the internet once too, so...

Her motto seemed to be, "Use what I have, find what I need"

Rather than "Overwhelm with excess and hope to survive"

A real photo from my kitchen. 

Monday it finally happened.

Cody and I had our first Come To Jesus meeting in our kitchen, and it was regarding plastic cups. 

I believe that the 41 plastic cups that we have left over from our reception are plenty to keep around. 

He, on the other hand, has collected a plastic cup from every livestock sale or show, trip to Eskimo Joe's, Alaskan fishing adventure, Michigan Sate, Detroit Pistons/Lions, Oklahoma State, or Lansing Lug Nuts game. And he passionately wants to keep them. All of them. 

This is only the stack he washed and put in the cupboard Monday night. 

I will admit, 

using all and any grace that I have left over from my mid-cold-kitchen-floor-rant,

I have learned so much from these darn plastic cups. 

We discussed the cups. 

The meaning behind each. 

The function behind few (there were just a lot of cracks). 

The memories tied to each. 

The tossing, possibly. 

And moving forward. 

We stood in the kitchen two nights ago and had a conversation that reached far beyond plastic cups with more stories dripping from the sides of them that I care to hear.
We even talked about several of my things that have stuck around - come hell or high snow - from one house to the next. 
I was far more guilty than he. 

The truth is, we each have a tendency to hold on to things that hold us back. 

Or snag our progress.

Or regress our time. 

Or move us flat backwards. 

Sometimes we hold on to things because they bring back a certain memory in our own timeline and we feel like clinching that physical thing ensures we'll never forget. 
Sometimes we hold on to things because we're not ready to let go. 
Sometimes we hold on to things because we shoved them under the bed five years prior and have no recollect of doing so. 

Sometimes - and all too often - the things we hold on to have greater significance - and take up greater space - than plastic cups. 

Moving forward I'll be evaluating things around me and the significance they hold. 

Not just the "stuff" that fills my kitchen

but also the "stuff" that fills my time

and also the "things" that occupy my mind. 

Consider those things in your life taking up "extra space" - there is a lot you can toss, huh?

And just so we're clear, I wasn't even mad when I decided to toss my Farm Credit insulated mug with a broken lid. I think eventually I'll earn another one?

It's amazing what a person can see by the light of a burning bridge.