Happy Monday! Thanks to all of you who have stopped to tell me they read this blog every week and to all who are sharing it with their Facebook friends. I appreciate it so much.
A few days ago I started taking apart the master bedroom and the accompanying office. I only touch a piece of paper once and I clean out every room at least once a year. Normally, this causes my husband and children to run around the house clutching their most prized possessions.
At one point I was quite overwhelmed with the pile of papers, clothes and other personal belongings all over the floor. After spending a good ten seconds in self-pity, I put on those big girl panties and dove in! Sorting and tossing paper was the easy part. After an hour or so the office was done.
Now all I had to do was tackle my clothes, bags and shoes. There were all of the clothes that I bought last year after I woke up one day to discover that the body fairies had made me larger. Those clothes ranged from matronly to frumpy. (Note to friends: An intervention would have been in order.)
I stared at all of the piles of clothes in size 6, 8, and 10. Why did I own so many turtlenecks? Do skinny people not get hot flashes? Gone. Ultimately, half of my clothes and shoes were put in bags for an upcoming tag sale.
The last group I sorted was my handbags. I was shocked to discover that not one handbag was ready for the giveaway pile. In fact, I almost fainted when I realized that it has been at least five years since I bought my last expensive handbag. I covet bags and jewelry and I have never been apologetic. The jewelry is covered by my large Italian-American family and my husband, but the bags are my responsibility. When you visit me in the nursing home I will be covered in baubles and my bag will match that day’s tracksuit.
It finally dawned on me….the economic drain of supporting my children caused me to go HANDBAG SOBER. It is an insidious thing, I tell you, something that creeps up on you slowly. When a person starts her own direct sales business, a good sponsor will always ask for her “Why?” Most people respond along the lines of building a secure financial future based on a steady stream of residual income. That is a wonderful goal that I share with all of my fellow business builders, but at least I am truthful enough to tell you that going into Louis or Furla or Gucci with reckless abandon would mean the pinnacle of success to me!
No matter what your goal, go for it! At the end of the day, we are living in dark times in which our fellow humans are turning on each other in despicable ways.
The rest of us need to keep moving forward. I, for one, will never give up on that flicker of light that is always within our sight. It doesn’t matter if that light takes the form of a child’s hug, a smile from a stranger or yes, even a handbag. Just promise me that when you are bathed in it, you will take the time to bask in the warmth for a moment.