Somber day here. Some of the items I'm listing on eBay, while they perfectly well need to go there, cause a bit of a wrench because they belonged to Dad. And it's not so much that, I've sold lots of family estate things with barely a twinge, but I realized that I'm coming up on the 20 year anniversary of his death. Intellectually I know that time has passed, but I lost both parents within six months, so that period from November 1997 to May 1998 was really tough. But like I mentioned above about keeping photos of objects instead of the objects themselves, I have kept the things that really do mean something. My house is filled with things that both parents sent over the years, and with things received after they died. I've told my kids a lot of the important stories. As I list several small cassette recorders and players (Dad was a packrat when it came to buying and keeping electronic stuff) I remembered that my mother gave me a cassette player of hers (even though I had several of my own) with the admonition that I record family stories for my children. So this going through stuff, decluttering, and passing it along has meaning. I need to keep telling the stories to my children. So I'll sell these little recorders but maybe take my time in passing along the one Mom gave me with those specific instructions.

A local radio call in program today had a guest who has written about how distracted we are by devices, and how creative our brains are when they are in fact a bit bored instead of always engaged with stuff and apps. She suggested driving with the radio off, without listening to the recorded book. To see what occurs during that time, of giving oneself an assignment for that time to think about something. Those stories to do with things, with people, would be a good starting place for each of us.