Yesterday and Tomorrow

Yesterday was Mother's Day. We didn't get to spend it with our mothers. We're hoping to do that next year when we are back in California, a part of the reasoning behind all the current chaos of our lives.
The thing about moving is this: You literally have to touch every thing you own. Every thing. Imagine that. It's daunting, and reminds us why even before we buy things that we will eventually toss, that we simply should not buy at all. How many THINGS do we need? How many boxes labeled objet d'art, or boxes labeled even more obtusely stuff? Even after getting rid of five large boxes of books, we still packed five large boxes of books. How many things do we keep for sentimental value. Truthfully, all of them. We look at something and silently ask ourselves, will our hearts break if we give this up? The answer sends the object into one box or the other. We have gotten a bit more ruthless. Hearts toughen as we plod onward. Our packing gets reckless too. We started out organized and rational. We're ending up with boxes that are packed with electronic stereo components, flat cookie sheets and clothes that we won't mind not seeing for a month or more. How should we label that?
The sun shines intermittently so we take a break and go for a walk. Song sparrows cheer us on. I have been inspired by Pohanginapete to play a bit with photoshop. He was inspired by Clare. These two are as far-flung a global inspiration as you can get.

Tuesday May 13th is my 56th birthday. Despite all my haranguing about stuff, I plan to buy myself a good pair of play shoes. I have my eye on these.

So begins our final week in Washington.