The first room in the bedroom project is basically done now. Tim came and finished up the floor this morning. During the morning hours Dad and the kids moved the bigger things upstairs from the downstairs. The bunk bed was taken apart and put back together. The dresser came in parts to make it easier for carrying. I worked on laundry while they were doing all that.

As I’ve been going along I’ve also been noticing other places around here that need attention. I also can ignore them, unbothered by the clutter. I feel a steady patience, not rushed or hurried. The schoolroom is going to end up getting cleaned out again along with the bedrooms. This time I had the boys clean out their desks and surrounding areas. I can get rid of those now.

We really do attach emotional meanings to our things. I don’t know why we do this but it’s definitely something we as human beings do. We have a fairly large house so there is room to store more. It also makes it easier to justify keeping more. I still have two storage tubs of cloth diapers that I kept after getting rid of many more. My son was often with me while I bought them on ebay to clean, flip, and make money.

I always thought maybe we could do a homeschool business project together where he helped me sell them online as a practical life-lesson. I kept my favorite ones in case we ever had to house refugees or family members with an infant. If I had a baby now I would use disposable ones without question. Now I’m wondering if maybe I could still sell them in different lots and make something–$50?–to put toward his college.

I’ve still been staying pretty close to home these days. I did go down for lunch today to say hi to the kids. I ended up sitting together with four of them and we looked at the college track schedule for the fall. I told my son that Dad and I had already marked it on the calendar and were planning to come and visit him for fall break. There’s a track meet in Des Moines that would be drivable too. It said it was only five hours.

We went down to the beach for a little bit today. I’m trying to be intentional about getting down there. My father-in-law has been in the hospital since the end of May and recently was discharged to a local rehabilitation facility where he can get continued physical therapy. Dad and the kids went to visit him this afternoon. I stayed here and rested, taking a nap. When I woke up it was almost time for supper. They got back in time to head down to the beach for the cookout.