Project 365: Day 56 - Letting go......

Garage sales can bring a wide array of emotions. I get sad to see some things go. Probably because I may have held on to them for far too long already, but mostly because whatever it is I'm letting go was a part of me at some point in my life. With that item goes the memory of what it meant to me when I needed it. I bought it for a reason or it was given to me for a reason. And letting the item go is almost letting go of that memory. So garage sales can be sad.

I also get nervous that I might not have enough traffic to make it worth it. You know what I mean? You spend so much time planning for a garage sale. You clean out the attic or basement or storage facility. You sort through the items you plan on selling. You finally come to terms with letting go of those things I mentioned above. You organize it all in a methodical fashion. And then you sit and wait. When you don't get that instant rush of people wanting to get the jump on everyone else, you start getting nervous. Crap! Did I just waste my week of planning and my emotional tug of war just to sit here and look a fool??

Then when the people do come, I get excited. I wonder "will I have what they're looking for?", "I got some good shit.", "she better not think I'm coming down on that price!" Yeah, those are just some of the thoughts racing through my head as random people sift through my memories.

Finally, I feel relief. The day is over. I start packing up the left over items that will go to Good Will. I change my mind about some of those items and place them in a box to go back to storage, where they will probably wait until the next garage sale. Then I sit down and count my money. "Not bad" I say to myself. It was worth it.

That is usually the path of emotions I take during a garage sale. Today was exactly that, but with a twist. I got to do it with my family. My parents and sister brought truck loads of items to sell along side mine. We ate doughnuts, drank coffee, played with the boys and met some really nice strangers. We enjoyed great conversation, laughed and people watched. And my dad and sister, who are both crazy in the most amazing way, even stood at the front of the neighborhood, waving a yard sale sign to get people to come shop. And they did! It was truly a sight.

Tonight's photo pays tribute to one of those items that made it's way into a new family. Given to my boys by their Mimi and Pawpaw. It can now bring joy to another sweet child.

56 of 365: Good bye big yellow car. We had fun......

Good Night All!