Killing two birds...

As I've mentioned before, all three of our kids go to my parents house in Idaho for two weeks each summer. Upon learning that we are (temporarily) childless, the same question is always posed to us-

"So what are you doing with your time away from the kids?" (Technically, the kids are the ones 'away', but we shan't quibble about that...)

Anyway... The answer varies from year to year.

Some years we have taken the opportunity to travel. In 2001 J and I took a trip to Israel and Europe. In 2004, I took Teenage Son on a mission trip to Tanzania. Last summer I took Teenage Daughter on a mission trip to Africa as well.

Other years have been much more mundane (and relaxing!). Those are the years where I catch up on the stack of books next to my bed that I have been trying to read. Or, I might manage to make a dent in my Netflix queue.

This year, we're not traveling or relaxing. This time we've undertaken a major cleaning and organizing project. I say major because, well- I am a 'saver'. You could say 'pack rat' but I prefer the former title.

So, I am sorting through boxes of items and clearing stuff out. Stuff like the 5 boxes of VHS tapes we still have- even tho' we have upgraded to DVD and no longer own a player for them. It's been hard for me to part with these tapes since many of them were my children's favorites when they were little. I guess letting go of them feels a little like letting their childhoods go... But honestly- most of these tapes are available on DVD. And even if I convinced myself (and my husband!) that I was saving them for our grandchildren to watch someday, the technology has changed and the tapes are really becoming obsolete. So I think I can manage to save one or two as keepsakes for each child (only ones that are NOT available on DVD yet!) and the rest can go to Goodwill...

The other set of boxes that will be more difficult to deal with is the boxes of artwork and school papers that each child brought home. Again- I just need to save the favorites, not every piece. A fellow mom actually gave me a good tip- photograph some of the art and put the pictures in an album which will take up a lot less space... I will definately save some of my favorite pieces- but right now it's out of control!

So I rented "The Queen" and I have boxes of tapes to sort through tonight. Hey- I can kill two birds with one stone!