Stuff

What do you do with your wedding dress when you get divorced? Leave it in a closet to plague you for the rest of your life? I thought about it for a long time and a few weeks ago I finally made a decision. I dropped it into the Goodwill donation box (veil and all) and drove away. I worried I might regret it but I haven’t - not one single bit.

What do you do with your wedding pictures and canvas portraits of your happy little family? Right now, most of my stuff is just packed up in boxes in storage. What should I do with it in the long run though? Save it for my kids (will they even care?) or give to parents for storage until I want it back someday? (will I ever want it back?) What about my wedding ring? Turn it into a pendant, save it for the boys, sell it to a jeweler? I just have no idea on that one yet. Maybe I will keep it tucked away in a drawer forever. I wonder how long this indention stay on my ring finger? It depresses me. I notice my hand and lack of a ring every time I’m driving. It’s weird. I have had a ring on it every day since I was 18 when Scott bought me a love knot from James Avery.

The truth is that it’s just stuff. These things do not define me. I used to think they did; I thought they stood for who I am – my past, my present and my future. Now they are just things – things from my past. There is no hope in holding on to or living in the past. I want to remember my past and honor it but not be held a prisoner to what it was.  I can’t remember if I shared this quote from Albert Einstein before or not so I will share it again:

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

I love this and want to follow it as I begin to live SOAR in this new life. So many new things to figure out and learn and grow from.