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Carol's avatar

“May you declutter all that disturbs you.

May you find within the disruption the treasures in the mess.

And may you know the peace of your own space.”

Oh my.

Those words are so relevant.

And the poem…it’s so perfect.

Thank you for sharing this.

Jesie Steffes's avatar

Thank YOU! Isn't the poem just BEAUTIFUL!! And such an accurate picture of what grief really does to the soul?

Carol's avatar

Oh my, yes. Such an accurate picture.

Gwendolyn's avatar

Just want to say, I love this. Simple and elegant. That ugly box held this kind of treasure. It only needed two years.

Jesie Steffes's avatar

Thank you, Gwendolyn! Yes, just two long years 😂

Jen Pillipow's avatar

I also hate emptying the dish washer and recently noticed it took less than five minutes to complete. I was wasting all that energy for a less-than-five-minute task! I love the idea of setting an alarm.

"Keep coughing up smoke from all the deaths you have died." Love this line. Old me's still exist, but just don't drive the bus anymore. Every now and then, they make their presence known. *cough*

So many beautiful layers to this writing, thank you for sharing it.

Jesie Steffes's avatar

Yes! So well said, Jen! The old us’s coming up in that coughing smoke. Gosh what an accurate picture!

Thank you for reading! ♥️

Melodie Mallory's avatar

Beautiful poem and post. I love how you call out when Michael comes to your aid, stopping what is relevant or important to him. In a longer-term marriage (or any relationship) this is easily taken for granted. We expect it and forget it is an act of love.

Jesie Steffes's avatar

So well said, Melodie!! It's such an emotional and energetic sacrifice to show up for our loves when timing isn't great, or the task at hand is less than glamorous or exciting. Thank you for calling that love - because you are so right, it is.

Elizabeth McLaughlin's avatar

I love this! So relevant as I also tend to leave things for this long 🫠 and when I finally do I love to just look at it 😂 we just cleaned out our garage yesterday and I was deciding if I’ll tackle more projects like that (closets and such) on my days off this week. This gave me the motivation to do just that! And maybe time myself too! Not only meaningful but you managed to inspire me to get after cleaning my house, too! 😂 Thanks Jesie!💕

Jesie Steffes's avatar

WOO HOOO!! Congrats to you guys for a clean garage! That's a monster we're still trying to work up to! Embarrassingly, some of things that were left in the house when we moved in are still there! Aghhh! That might have to be a longer timer - but it's possible. I know you'll do lovely things this week with your time! I hope it nourishes you!

Stacy Carosa's avatar

I love a good, "oh that's where I put it!" While decluttering. I also have a lot of old planners that have helped me sift through the past four some nostalgia. I did finally recycle a couple who I've felt have say there long enough, the others have a couple more years. 😊

Jesie Steffes's avatar

Yes! All in their own time, those planners. One of my takeaways from flipping through some of my old ones was wondering how in the heck I had energy or stamina to be doing all the things I saw in there! 😂