"Stuff"

I wonder how most departing volunteers deal with all of their "stuff." A fair amount can probably leave whatever they have at their childhood home with their parents. I bet there are some moneybags who rent a storage unit the whole time they are gone. I bet some give everything they have to goodwill and take off.

My mom/stepdad are kind of nomads. She is probably going to leave her job sooner than later and move (I've heard murmurs of North Carolina, where my grandparents live). She will take some of my stuff, but as it is she lives in a 2-bedroom apartment. My dad/stepmom have a big house, but it is in Southern Illinois - more than halfway across the country.

From my count as of now, there are probably 45 file-sized boxes plus suitcases of clothes and some furniture (dresser, futon, shelves) that I am intending to keep. There is no way my mom would even store all this, let alone move it across the country.

I remember when I left Ithaca College the summer of 2003, I managed to fit everything I wanted to bring home in my Volvo. His name was Lance. He was silver. I think he was only two years younger than I am! I didn't have him very long. But that isn't the point. Yeah, I had left some stuff (mostly old memorabilia) in my parents' house, but then we were all moving to California and I had to downsize. Unfortunately, they ended up buying space in a HUGE 18-wheeler and I did not have to get rid of much more than I left at IC...I remember putting boxes on that I really had no idea what was in them. Today I am sifting through that stuff asking myself if it's memorabilia worth saving or not...I mean...what would be cool in a scrapbook when I'm 80??

Anyway. Just saying...it's hard to downsize.