Clipping the bushes

My beautiful gardenias have been a source of pride for me for several years.  My mother rooted them for me from her bushes.  She taught me how to break them off in just the right place and root them for my friends.  But after a particularly cold winter, my bushes were brown.  Brown and sad.  My husband clipped off the brown twigs and leaves.  They are finally beginning to show some new green growth.  He planted some new plants in our fairy fort and filled the bird feeders.

Inside, I am cleaning closets.  Old clothes that we have not been wearing have been packed along with some household goods that have not been used for quite a while.  I sat down with two crates of notebooks from my master's program from eight years ago.  After re-living that two years of my learning journey through notes about leadership, memories flooded back to me....  lively conversations in my cohort classes, late night reading and writing, and meetings with my colleagues preparing presentations.  I emptied the binders and threw away the notes, except for a few papers I wrote.  I worked too hard to throw them away.  They will be added to my portfolio.

The clothing, the household goods, and the empty binders have been picked up by the Vietnam Vets pickup service.  We are seeing more cardinals and sparrows in the fairy fort and in the bird house.  Yesterday we saw a rabbit hopping around the yard along with several squirrels.

As hard as it is to let go of the old things, I have to remember that they are just THINGS.  I am learning that this process is necessary to make room for the new and exciting things to come.  We are continuing to clean and declutter, looking forward to next year and whatever life brings.

I hope it brings us some new gardenias.