By Kitty Johnson
Last month, I continued my quest to get together with 80 friends and family people, go to 80 places, and do 80 things. These 80 nebulous things include skills, small adventures, treating or taking care of myself, and anything else I dream up that is not a place or a person.
Or stuff. I already have too much stuff.
It’s not that I had a huge house full of stuff and now have to downsize; it’s that I accumulated stuff over close to 25 years of being nomadic, and put it into storage knowing that someday I would have the perfect place for all of it. The way that turned out is that I have the perfect place for some of it.
But wait! isn’t one of my birthday themes the equivalent of aging while smart, healthy, and fun? I invited some long-time friends to a potlatch. It’s the opposite of a potluck, where everyone brings something to the party. In my #HTC80 version, everyone had to take something from the party.
It took me much longer to organize than I’d hoped. I had enough for a stall at a flea market. At one point I had a flash vision: all of my friends at a flea market selling all of my stuff. But wait (again)! I had this same issue when I was younger. I’d be upset if someone didn’t use what I gave them exactly the way I wanted them to. I need to remember that once I give something away, I also have to give up control of what happens to it afterwards. They can sell it, give it away, or cut it up to make doll clothes.
Some items called me back to them, all with memories attached. A brass ammunition bowl from Korea, a cutting board from Russia, my grandmother’s jewelry box. I waffled about some fabric from my Peace Corps days. My minimalist neighbor reminded me of the intention I’d set for myself, which was to let go of things rather than hold on to them. I found something else connected to that memory, and kept that.
I’ve still got too much stuff, of course. Now I’m learning how to have fun and celebrate while letting go of it.
Join me as I celebrate my way to 80 here at the Southwester or on Instagram HowToCelebrateYour80thBirthday