Its that time of the year at the Sanchez house. The time when the discussion at morning coffee stops being about how our past few days have been and starts becoming about all the things that we need to get done around the house to get ready for spring. To me this means turning on the water and making sure that all of the sprinkler heads pop up and work, that the old gas in the can is poured out and replaced with fresh, and that the patio and bench cushions gets pulled out to be dusted and watered down in preparation for the warm weather. I make it a point to stay clear of any kind of discussion that would have anything to do with me being inside decluttering, downsizing, or cleaning which seems to always be the direction that my wife likes to go down every year. But this year I was the loser in this department and the weather became my enemy, dang Colorado weather! It rained and snowed the whole weekend, trapping me inside and leaving me no choice but to cave to the will of my wife, which she took full advantage of by pulling out her list of things to do.
The list contained things like
- Go through all of our clothes and declutter your closet
- Go through all of our junk drawers and throw away everything that you don’t need
- Properly store the things that are needed
These were my marching orders but deep down inside all I wanted to do was sit on the couch, pop some popcorn and have a Star Wars Trilogy marathon for the whole weekend. Wishful thinking buddy, your bubble popped, get to work that’s what I was told.
I had my orders. My plan was to knock them out as fast as I could. Nobody was going to make me enjoy what I was about to go through because I saw no enjoyment in decluttering. To me my closet and junk drawers did not need to be clean and organized I knew where everything was, it was organized chaos.
To my wife this was not acceptable we couldn’t go on living this way, it was horrible, the world would come to an end. Being married 21 years to my Puerto Rican queen has taught me a couple of things. When it comes to decluttering you better get on board because she won’t be happy. So I had to tell myself Sergio if momma ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy you better get this done or you’ll be in the doghouse till summer.
Our first and task was to declutter our linen closet. As Norah started pulling out sheets and comforters and pillowcases I instantly saw something happen in her face. Her demeanor changed you could see it in her eyes. Before we had started if you had looked into her eyes they would have said were on a mission, we’re going to get things done today. But something had changed in them, you could see that each time she pulled out a piece of linen that she would go into deep thought almost like into a trance or into a dream.
Physically I could tell that she was relaxed, she went from let’s get this done now mode, to a this is nourishment for my soul. It was written all over her face.
Once articles of our kids came out, like their sheet sets pasted with images of Dora the Explorer and Beauty and the Beast started popping out. It became clear to that this was not going to be just another decluttering day. This day would be a day of remembering our journey as a family. So we warmed up some coffee and got to work. With each new piece that was pulled we would stop and talk about what we remembered of it.
It was as if we had opened an album of out pictures some made us laugh and some made us sad. This was our story being told to us through the clutter in our closet. My eyes were opened to the sight of how much the Lord has truly blessed me and my family. The article that made the most impact on me was one that was found on the bottom shelf pushed to the back, wrapped in plastic. This piece has be in there for a long time and we had no idea what it was so we started to unwrap the plastic like it was Christmas morning.
It was my wife’s wedding dress. Instantly a smile grow on my face because I could see my beautiful wife wearing the dress on our wedding day. The feelings I felt that day returned to me in an instant. I must be the luckiest guy in the world because she’s about to become my wife. In that moment I saw my life flash in front of my eyes with images of all of the accomplishments that we we had achieved as a family. Our first home, decorating the rooms of our children and purchasing the sheets for our family. I was able to take stock of my life and enjoy the gifts that the Lord was given. This was good for my soul, I had forgotten so much and I was good to remember the journey. It’s easy to get so caught up in the Now that we forget to remember the How.
Maybe the bigger part of all of this wasn’t the cleaning or the decluttering, it was so that we had somewhere empty to put all of our new memories that we would collect of the next year. My wife uses this time to recharge her batteries, this is when she makes sense of everything about her and why she’s made the sacrifices that she’s made. She sees that her past mistakes were meant to guide her not define her. We all have to take a step back sometimes so that we can see the bigger picture. Tomorrow is not guaranteed, so let’s make sure that the memories that we build today will last forever. Some will make us cry and some will make us laugh, but we must always remember that this is your story. We should make it a goal to cluttering a junk drawer or a closet over the next year just to have a reason to come back to it and reminisce of our journey and all the treasures that we have collected. I will be more open to help in my wife now when it comes to decluttering next spring because I want to be part of remembering and sharing of the trip down memory lane.
Don’t miss the opportunity to slow down and smell the flowers and reminisce on life’s journey!
Remember To Keep Rolling On!!
Sergio
The guy in the chair, who lost his ability to walk, but found his mobility through a change in his heart. A change when his mind was awakened by the gift of Purpose.
“And your life will be brighter than the noonday.
Its darkness will be like the morning.” Job11:17