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I empathized with Eliza Doolittle today when at one point in her journey with Henry Higgins she exclaims, "Words, words, words, I'm so sick of words" except in my case it would have to be "books, books, books, I'm so sick of books".
Before we left Sweden, we did a serious purge of our library. I mean over a 100 books that we gave or donated away. But when the shipment arrived last week, we realized that we still had way too many books. So today we took on the herculean task of doing yet another sort of these volumes.
Of course, part of what makes it so darn hard to make decisions about books is that they hold a piece of our heart and lives. So even if we may never, ever crack the cover again, just seeing the title brings a wave of emotion. And then, of course, there's always the "oh, I'm interested in that subject and really should read that book". But after not reading it for 15 years, one really has to wonder if one really will ever read that book! But alas, there are children's books and travel books and theological reference books and devotional books and, of course, novels, both favorites and "to be read" that remain forever keepers.
So after sorting through the various boxes that had remained unpacked, we were able to whittle our collection down so that they fit on the shelves that we have with only a little overflow! 
We also sorted through a lot of knickknacks and keepsakes and made some hard decisions about what to keep and what to put in the garage sale box. 
I still have to sort through my desk stuff and set up a filing cabinet. 
And we also have a load of photos and pictures for which we do not have shelf or wall space so another purge is coming.
I know once we live for awhile without this stuff, as we have now for weeks, we'll likely not miss these things. But parting is such sweet sorrow, that's for sure. And while I do love real books, after today, I'm more and more convinced that my kindle is the way to go when it comes to space, storage and moving.
Before we left Sweden, we did a serious purge of our library. I mean over a 100 books that we gave or donated away. But when the shipment arrived last week, we realized that we still had way too many books. So today we took on the herculean task of doing yet another sort of these volumes.
Of course, part of what makes it so darn hard to make decisions about books is that they hold a piece of our heart and lives. So even if we may never, ever crack the cover again, just seeing the title brings a wave of emotion. And then, of course, there's always the "oh, I'm interested in that subject and really should read that book". But after not reading it for 15 years, one really has to wonder if one really will ever read that book! But alas, there are children's books and travel books and theological reference books and devotional books and, of course, novels, both favorites and "to be read" that remain forever keepers.
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| Happy our African animals found a home. Those are keepers for sure! |
We also sorted through a lot of knickknacks and keepsakes and made some hard decisions about what to keep and what to put in the garage sale box. I still have to sort through my desk stuff and set up a filing cabinet. And we also have a load of photos and pictures for which we do not have shelf or wall space so another purge is coming.I know once we live for awhile without this stuff, as we have now for weeks, we'll likely not miss these things. But parting is such sweet sorrow, that's for sure. And while I do love real books, after today, I'm more and more convinced that my kindle is the way to go when it comes to space, storage and moving.
Once again, another amazing post! I always love reading what you have to say. I always image you saying it in my head. I hope to see you both quite soon! Hugs and kisses to you and Doug!
ReplyDeleteXO,
Isaac