new beginning again

Today is exactly 18 months from the day I moved in with Dan. We're also on the move again. This time together, a new beginning -- again...

One of the questions that we've been asking ourselves is what is most important to us? Since we've been looking at new places to live, we've come up against several factors that have made us question what we're willing to live without, and what we're not willing to live with.

We looked at a place yesterday that would put a few more bucks in our pockets since it's less expensive then where we live now. However, the more we talked it out the more we realized that those savings would come at a huge price to our freedom. Dan was already cooking up neighborly conflicts, and I was thinking about adding another job to my life to keep from being there so much. Too close quarters with unlike minds -- a people sandwich, Dan called it. Too small, or was it?

Smallness -- what do we live without? We discovered that we're willing to live with less. That's really easy for me. I live in a world where anything is disposable. Well, maybe not my one and only pillow...

Dan, on the other hand, is not so much like that. Dan loves having things around him, lots of things everywhere. I think I'm a closet Shaker because less is so much more. The more empty space in a room the better. Clean, uncluttered surfaces can become my best friends. I'm not necessarily into cleaning as much as not owning much. It feels simpler. I can breather easier, and inspiration comes to me readily in that kind of environment. I feel calmer in open space. I resonate with it. My thoughts simmer and my soul soars.

I've been doing a lot of hand stitching lately. Slow stitching. I immerse myself in the feel of the fabric, the rhythm of the stitching, and the sound of the thread slipping through the fibers. I can hear the quiet bliss. It's my favorite song. So, I can do without the stacks of fabrics (10 boxes so far). I'm letting go of all but one of the sewing machines and serger. This isn't my first time to pair down with supplies. Some very fortunate women in McKinney got some really great deals from me, and the fabrics, machines, and decorative threads that have come my way since then have been exceptional. So I know that letting go of things doesn't prohibit newer and better ones to show up in my life down the road.

I'm not afraid of letting go. It's been my mantra for years.