The Awful Closet

     When not traveling by boat or motorhome we run a bed and breakfast.  Years ago with a growing business we decided we needed to move into and live in the back end of the house.  It meant giving up our master bedroom out front with all its space, but it was a good decision. Now we live in 800 square feet of a 3200 square foot home and we are happy as clams.  We have a kitchen, den, pantry, laundry, and tiny bedroom.  We also have the world's smallest full-sized bathroom which I love!  A nice roomy shower and a toilet that allows you to lean over the sink when you are sick at both ends! (I guess that explains why a 32 ft. motorhome will seem "roomy" when we head south.)

Woodlawn


  

   
      The only problem is that we lack storage for clothing in our section.  So, much of the stuff I don't wear was summarily shipped to the barn a while back.  The rest occupies a closet out front in the study. I have been shoving stuff into that closet for years now, and it finally reached the point where I dreaded even going in there. It was basically a big jumble of balled up clothes! Ahhh, but no longer!  

     This morning I took my CD player to the study, inserted my favorite Christmas music by Bing, Frankie, and Nat, and began the job of cleaning it out.   I dug through stacks of clothes and suddenly I felt like I was going through an old photo album.  Some of the stuff dated back 20 years!!! As I sorted through stack after stack of old tee shirts, I got to savor memories bought up by each one. Since I like to buy tee shirts when I am traveling, the theme of the shirt usually triggers a memory of that trip or event.  I ended up throwing out a bunch that were worn, and others with life I donated to charity, but there are still many I will hang on to.

     These old tees are like members of the family.  For example, my old Windy Topp tee shirt dates back to a boat I sold 15 years ago. Yet it still looks good and I will wear it, if only on work days around here. I have a great collection of religious tee shirts that date back to my conference days.  Some are like old friends and have cool messages like my favorite: "What part of Thou shalt not didn't you understand?"  And then there are Mets tees, Orangemen tees, and Football Giants tees that still have a job to do.  (The Mets tee shirts have very little wear as the team sucked for so long.  I think they will get more use in the year ahead.)

     I even found an old "wife beater" tee shirt.  That one went to the rag pile because, at age 66, wife beaters don't look very fashionable on my rag doll body!  After about an hour of stacking, folding and sorting,  I called it quits, with still another 2 shelves to go!  That's the good news about being retired, there is always tomorrow.  The best news of the day: I found my Christmas socks!