Sunday, December 30, 2012

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

For those of you who do not already know, I will be leaving this week to head out to Iowa and then on to New Mexico to shear. This last month has been devoted to preparing for that trip. To be honest I have spent more time packing for this trip then I did when I packed for New Zealand! Maybe it's because Lydia is coming with me this time, but maybe it also has something to do with this being a transition phase of my life. I am now completely settled in my life as a sheep shearer, I really enjoy what I do and I like it enough to want to go find work when work around Maryland is slow. January and February are notoriously slacker months, so I find I enjoy the opportunity to see new places and meet new people on the road during these months. But with that it also means I have to figure out what is important enough to me, to justify taking up space in my little van. So this entire month has been devoted to sifting through my already meager belongings trying to figure out what I can leave behind. If you have never had to sit down and go through your things, laying out your life in objects, I don't recommend it unless you are prepared for a bit of emotional fall out from the weight of all those memories!
The first thing I did was to go out and buy bins, 10 Tupperware bins, that I put all my things into. One bin for Lydia's books, one for all the objects on the shelves, one with all my business papers, another two bins were devoted to my books, one bin had all my cooking things in. Packing it up wasn't the problem, my next task was to go through each bin to see if I felt I would need anything on the road. Do you realize that the first few times you sift through your belongings you can't imagine living without any of it!? I took several bins out at a time and stacked and restacked everything in them. I pulled out books and read them, looked through photo albums, shed a tear or two when looking over Lydia's baby things. It's nice to revisit those times in my life but it is hard to leave those things behind, even if temporarily.
Finally I got the "important stuff" narrowed down to 5 bins, 1 duffle of cloths and a duffle of odds and ends. But I still wanted to take even less stuff. Today was probably the hardest...I'm a book person, I love books with a passion. I have gotten together a tidy collection of shearing books that I just love, some of my favorite classics from when I was a kid, plus books I want to read to Lydia. The books had become my biggest hurdle. My sensible half tried to talk some sense into me..."your going to be working all the time, when are you going to have time to read?" Ok, ok, I know that but when your a book person you can't just leave them behind! It's like leaving a toe or ear off of your body. You just can't do it...but I did, sorta. I was able to narrow my books down to one small box. I know I won't read any of them but the peace of mind I have knowing they are with me is all that matters. Plus I was able to narrow it down to only my absolute favorites:)
So my journey now begins, after a few more shearing jobs I will be heading west. I have 3 bins of belongings, 1 duffle of cloths, 1 duffle of shoes, 1 backpack with a portable dvd player and some movies and Lydia has a bag of toys. I think I am ready to go. My life has been slimmed down as much as I'm ever going to get it. I'm looking forward to the adventures I will have this winter in the desert but I am already looking forward to coming back and reuniting with all I have left behind:)

2 comments:

  1. Hey you...if you are in Oklahoma (it's on the way toward New Mexico)you have a place to stay. Just call!! 405 550 1301. Sierra and I would love to have you for as long as you need to stay.

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  2. Whenever you get tired of New Mexico there are a few flocks of Gulf Coast for you to shear in Texas.

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