I had a visit from a dear friend from my old home last week. Not only did she visit me and bring me some treats from home, she also took it upon herself to clean out my basement with me. I have to tell a little more about that…
I’m planning to found a shared flat with a friend and move together, I’m very happy about that, “only” we have to find the appropriate and suitable flat – but that’s an issue in itself. In order to make the move easier, I would like to free myself from the ballast already now…
That’s how we started my to sort out my basement, at 35 degrees. In the basement it was nice and cool. My friend carried everything up box by box and I played Tinder: keep it/throw it away. Whereby most of it fell into the category “throw away”. I took pictures of some things and offered them on the internet for a symbolic sum or to give them away. Not even for free people want to have good stuff…
Of course I was very happy about the help, it was partly funny but partly sad. So many things, that gathers in a life…. a lot of memories and things poured into me, that I had long forgotten. At some point I also asked myself, is that the work, that clearing out companies do, when grandma has died?
Besides mattresses, carpets, paintings, lamps I also found old photos, old letters and my diary from the 80s. What can I say… it was emotional. I looked at the old pictures and asked myself over and over again “Was everything still all right here, or had I already had MSA in my head? ” Holidays in Italy, holidays in Greece, old family photos of baptisms, birthdays, crazy parties and weddings, trip to Paris… The worst thing was to see my handwriting from before. Like one pearl after the other, the letters have joined together. Not the unreadable smearing like now. And the empty canvas, 2 meters by 5 meters…. I used to paint acrylic. Empty and clean, waiting for someone to fill it. I will not be that.
We filled the garbage cans – sorry neighbours – and luckily I had bulky garbage in a few days, so I put a lot on the street. A box full of music CDs, sunglasses and video films on DVDs… Thermos flasks, furniture that is not used, rucksacks, carpets etc… To my sorrow, strangers started digging in them and I hated them. I want to throw these things away and not that they other, strange people belong.
That is, to say, preparing for a new life. It’s hard to stay optimistic and realistic at the same time. There is of course a part of my treasures that I will keep, maybe I will still use it…. who knows?
And Reli thanks for the help and the self made apricot dumplings <3
Photo: WAFD and Dominic / Photocase.com