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"The best
way to succeed in life is to act on the advice we give to
others."— Author unknown
I’ve never been an enthusiast of New Year’s
resolutions, even though I have always been a “goal
setter.” And goals, in actuality, are mini-resolutions
made throughout the year, but therein lies the important
difference; a New Year’s resolution is usually a grandiose
wish, a dream of an “end result,” which, unless
broken down into attainable goals, is doomed.
However, this year, I am making one resolution which, with
the help of mother nature, has already been partially achieved.
In my work as an adviser to seniors who are contemplating
a move, I am often called upon to be a ruthless get-rid-of-it
advocate, especially when it comes to anything with 2 inches
of dust on it, socked away in the furthest recesses of the
basement.
I have absolutely no trouble getting rid of other people’s
old luggage, chipped dishes, out-dated receipts, little-used
tools, worn-out appliances, too small and out-of-style clothes,
grammar school mementoes, cheap souvenirs and all manner
of other things relegated to the basement 30 years ago that
have not since, seen the light of day. But when it comes
to the self-same items in my basement, they suddenly seem
to take on a halo effect, and I procrastinate about getting
rid of anything so valuable that I am someday surely going
to need.
Last week, after a very heavy rain, I made one of my rare
trips to the basement; rare, because seeing the accumulation
there always fills me with guilt. I was about to retrieve
some bagels from the freezer when I discovered a minor flood.
Soaking-wet Christmas wrap had created a colorful rainbow-like
effect on the floor, books, summer blankets, old 45 rpm
records, some photos, and lots and lots of files of innumerable
papers were all a soggy mess. As I looked around, I experienced
what some people have described in a moment of great danger
when their life suddenly flashes before them.
There in the soggy residue was the flotsam and jetsam of
the past 30 or so years of my life ... books I had not yet
read, photos I had meant to frame, slides I was going to
make into a video, clothes ready to be sorted and given
away.
Fortunately, some of the more valuable items which were
on shelves and wooden benches that Val, with cautious foresight,
had made some years ago, were not damaged. After the excellent
crew from Servpro, (800) 486-4466, a firm specializing in
fire and water damage, had worked for the better part of
a day to clear out the debris, dry out the water and spray
a mold preventative, the basement looked positively pristine,
and I realized fate had handed me a blessing in disguise.
Only on one other occasion had we experienced a flooded
basement, but at the time we had owned our little house
in Chicago for less than a year so we hadn’t had time
to accumulate very much. Nevertheless, we were trying to
sell it in order to take Val’s job offer to go to
Japan. I had two huge boxes of soap powder in the basement
and when they collapsed, the resulting scene was straight
out of a Doris Day movie.
Every time a prospective buyer opened the door to the basement,
a veritable bubble bath threatened to over-run the door
sill and spill into the family room. I recall that it took
weeks and weeks to get rid of the stuff.
Oh yes, what is my New Year’s resolution? "Do
unto yourself as you would advise others to do," and
when tempted to keep something, I am going to pretend that
I have no basement.
Jean Cherni is founder of Senior
Living Solutions, a retirement advisory service. Contact
her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or 15 The Ponds, Branford
06405.
H. Pearce Company REALTORS®
is a full-service real estate company with more than 100
agents and branch offices in greater New Haven and the Shoreline.
Corporate and & Commercial offices are located in North
Haven, where the company was founded in 1958. All listings
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