Moving on

The end of 2012 brought not so much the end of the world, but rather the end of an era. And this post contains no added Mayans... well, ok, maybe one little reference. But the rest of it is guaranteed Mayan-free. I hope.

It started off with a quiet weekend in the mountains that ended up in one rather sparkly rock being offered to me. After making sure the man wasn't joking or delirious, I accepted with a very happy heart. When we got home I heard that the job I'd applied for before we left was available to me, and the ball really started rolling. Suffice to say, by the end of 2012 I'm engaged, looking forward to starting a new job and in the process of moving house. It is ending on a note of wonder, terror, excitement with a quiet counterpoint of nostalgia.

The last few days I have tackled the messiest room in the house; packing that which needs to go into temporary storage, setting aside that which needs to go with to the temporary accommodation with fiancee, and that which must be discarded. It's a surprising and nostalgic journey, going through all the drawers, folders and boxes that somehow accumulated in between the book cases and desk. I found everything from grade school books to saved giftwrapping. Maps of places I've been and brochures of those I intended to visit. I kept reminding myself to be ruthless in this spring-cleaning process - don't hold on to old notes written in class, but don't throw them away either before reading them one more time. Somehow you revisit your life by reading little scraps of paper with odd notes, finding photos used as bookmarks and forgotten in between the pages, trying to decipher cryptic scribbles in your own handwriting. It's a flashback journey, little windows into your own history filled with glimpses of forgotten moments.

And sifting through it, I decide what to keep and what to let go of; sometimes much more than just a secret note or a long-forgotten address. Saying goodbye has never been easy for me, and some letters were not let go without a teardrop stamp. But they are not let go of lightly; they were held, read, and purposefully let go; sometimes with a fond farewell, at other times with regret. But it's time to move on, and it's more easily done with a lighter load.

With the new year lurking in the wings, perhaps it's a good time to clean the unused and unwanted things off the stage, setting it up for new memories and experiences that will complement the good that has already happened.