Getting Ready for The Big Day

Something's abuzz here at the Casa Federocko. We are hustling and bustling around in preparation for our first-ever garage sale. Over a week ago, we gave up parking in the garage and set up tables on which to dump the mass quantities of junk we are pulling out of the crawl space. Where did all of this junk come from? Admittedly, we own more than we did when we first upgraded to this house from our 700 square-foot condo, but I think we're also finding that some of our emotional attachment to things we've carted around throughout our adult lives has abated.

I am quite proud of the fact that I reduced my stored books from 4 boxes to half of a box, which I moved up to my bookshelves. I had actually horded many of the books I read, because honestly, I was taught that books are your friends...and why would you want to discard a friend? I've got solid memories to go along with many of those books. However, I find that they are now so unimportant to me. I happily donated some of them to Kirby's school library, some to my friend's home schooling library, and am selling the rest. Oh yes, except for the textbooks that I thought might be so practical to have on hand post-college; because really, who knows when you might need a refresher on Sociological Perspectives on Sex and Gender, or Sexism and God-Talk. Ooooh, how about Global Population Development: Old Debates, New Conclusions? I so often have time debate global population theory - I'm darn glad I saved that book! I'm trying to figure out how to recycle these babies, because Lord knows I don't need to be storing them or making my husband cart them on yet another move (I think Husband died when I opened the boxes that had served as the time capsules for these books - he had no idea he's been carting around my high school French textbook and books on Radicalism and Racism in Zimbabwe - a great class, by the way).

But back to the garage sale...Kirby has been begging us for the past two years to have one. He has some romanticized ideas of what it involves. He's already told me that he can cover for me when I need a break; "When you need to go inside to do stuff, I can help the people and answer their questions and take their money," he told me. Right. Sensing the intrusion of an opposing agenda, I quickly suggested the boys have a lemonade stand. They couldn't be more excited, and have spent weeks planning for it, complete with listing the various friends they plan to have over to help with it. Kirby is already concerned, because Connor has a tendency to pay people from his cash register right after he takes their money. More than once I've purchased a rock for 75 cents, only to walk away with a rock (that I'm pretty sure I previously owned, considering that it came from my own yard) and $1.56. At the very least, Saturday will provide us with some good old fashioned family memories, but I expect we'll have a little comic relief too!