Friday, February 13, 2009

Scary Friday the 13th? Happy Valentine's Day!

This Friday the 13th wasn't such a bad day -- in fact, it was great. The evening before, I had a bit of a mental/emotional melt-down and had a heart-to-heart with my beloved husband. We decided we would start Friday off with two hours of serious cleaning, well -- sorting and tossing. Cleaning comes later.

I'm a hoarder, a pack rat, collector of junk.

There, I've said it.

Our home is not so much our castle as a rubbish heap. I have a VERY hard time letting go of perfectly good clothes, magazines, useful potential art supplies. In fact I have a hard time letting go of just about everything but junk mail. But even that chokes up the already cluttered works. Junk mail is my sweetheart's bailiwick.

Over the years my messy little office/studio space has spilled into almost every room of our little house. I hate it and I've been hating myself and beating myself up inside because of it.

But I'm not lazy. I work from home and I teach at university. I have a very full schedule of teaching, meetings, volunteering, etc. I have to stop and start my projects in mid-stream. I'm writing a book, I'm working on jewelry, I'm staying up late to grade student works online. I just never got in the habit of tidying up before I go to bed, like my mom has suggested. So stuff has just piled up.

So. Today was very good. I have momentum. My husband understands me a little better (after 18 years of marriage).

This Valentine's Day I have a new, deeper love for my beloved. And I feel the tender, caring love of my sweetheart in a new and more profound way.

He loves me warts (and wrinkles and love-handles) and jewelry-finding and fabric swatches and all.

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