Months can be compared to stages or time periods of our lives.  I believe my sons are in the March period of their lives.  A young couple around their early thirties may be in the April of their lives.  I feel I am moving into the September/October of mine.  Why is this important for us to consider?

Earlier this evening my son Brock said, Mom, are you going to downsize?  What does this mean I asked?  He referred to the size of our home and all it’s contents.  Although a couple hairs of defense bristled, I quickly understood that my loving son was asking a natural question.  Really, I shouldn’t expect my children would want to live out the rest of their lives here in this big old house.  I mentioned, “you boys could move your wives in here with you”.  His eyes got very large.  He said, “Really Mom, are you ready to get rid of all this and move into a smaller home?”.  I said, “Yes, when we need to.”  This all requires much consideration.

The fact that I like life the way it is now does not mean I should not consider the future.  I have to think of others, which brings to mind a friend named Albert.  Albert was an acquirer.  He collected whatever he felt he needed, abandoned cars, old paint, parts and just about anything, he even built a storage building to house it all.  His basement was full of it, and his garage and yard.  Albert was an enterprising man and he had built up a great fortune.  Yet, when he died he left so much work for his widowed wife to do the stress made her sick.  She had to go through all this, striving to figure out what was valuable, what was salvageable, and what needed to be taken to the dump.  It was so sad to see Barbara going through all of this.  Eventually Barbara made her way through it all, sold everything and she bought a modest little home.  No clutter, no darkness, and she radiated.

I think of estate sales and auctions.  There is so much there, and the children do not want 95% of it.  It amazes me when I see all that is being sold, what was purchased and prized now being cheaply disposed of.

When you see you have a lot, why go looking at more?  There is a lot I really do not need.  There are books, clothes and other items all of us in our house could do well to rid ourselves with.  Yes, I do not want to leave my husband and children in a bad situation.  Thankfully the situation I referred to is an extreme one, but we need to think about these things.  Yet, it still applies and I want to show appreciation for my sons feelings on the matter.

My friend Michelle, she has her home nicely arranged, a cheerful décor, and it is easy to manage.  It has a pleasant atmosphere and as I strived to recover physically and emotionally after the death of my father it was the best place to be.  I would like to have my home reflect the same sort of atmosphere.

If I am in the fall of my life, I have more to think about then just myself.  We affect more people than we realize, especially our loved ones.