We made it into the house before Christmas Day…just as our builder, Mike, promised we would. And as you well know, Christmas does not wait until you get settled and ready. So, a day or two before the final move, I brought all the Christmas gifts over to the Creek House and put them into the guest closet, so I would know exactly where they were on Christmas morning. Never mind that they were all clustered under the TV, instead of a Christmas tree…it was still Christmas!

Now, the only gift I expected from Don was…nothing. I mean, this house is all the gift I could want. And, as much as I love presents…I knew he would not get me anything else. And, that was as it should be. However, I got him a few little things, so that he would have something to do on Christmas morning as the family gathered to exchange presents.

(I must assure you…honestly…I did not expect there to be a gift…nor did I need anything else! I am not joking about this.) However…to be honest, I think this exemption should only be good for 1 year from date of First Sleep…so I should be OK for next Christmas!

Well, after we finished oohing and ahhing and looking over all our treasures…Don mumbled something about not being able to find ‘my gift’. I did not believe him, and just thought he maybe felt a little guilty since I had gotten him something. I just let it slide and no more mention has been made of it till tonight.

My Partners in Crime and All Things Fun and Frivolous, Tina and Shirley, descended on the Creek House and commenced to putting it into order! All boxes were to be opened, all ‘stuff’ to be gone through, and what was deemed ‘fitting’ would be given a place to live. Don was so happy to see them, he practically kissed their feet. And, he fixed them a pizza. And, he told me to do everything they said.

My friend, Shirl, is a decorating dervish…actually, just give her a project, and she can be a dervish of any kind. It is as if she has blinders on…there is a goal, and she will see it through. PERIOD. Only stopping for occasional coffee and Diet Coke breaks. Even though Tina and I THOUGHT we had sorted through and ‘let go’ of lots of my stuff…Shirl thought we had only begun. Friends, I ‘let go’ of much, much more. Much more than I thought I would. And of things that I thought I would never let go of. Shirl has been watching Clean House…24 hours a day…preparing for this task. She kept asking me, “Do you love it?” Love is very close to LIKE in my mind…but not hers. Like was not good enough. “In the box,” she would order…and I grudgingly complied. Talk about culling out! We quickly whittled down my pillow stash from 5 boxes to 1. But, I can’t talk too much about that…it still hurts. I did manage to hide a few treasures back before she took them outside. But, she was as right as can be! Those are things that do not fit in the Creek House. They are things I have outgrown (decorating wise)…and I need to let go and move on. It made it much easier on Shirl as Don cheered her on from the sidelines, saying, “Go, Shirley, get rid of all of it…she doesn’t need it…get it outta here.” His eyes were glazed over…he was a happy man seeing all that ‘stuff’ going out of our house.

Now, I must be fair. Shirley knows I am a sentimental fool…and she knew there were things from family and friends I could not bear to part with. And, she was cool with that. But, she even threw away some of the things that even SHE had given to me. I tell you…she’s a dervish!

Meanwhile, Don poked his head around the corner in the midst of all this glee, and said,” If you see a box labeled Don’s Underwear, let me know. I can’t find it. Well, friends, we opened all the remaining boxes in my garage, about 10 or 12…and no underwear was ever found. He began to get desperate. “Where is my underwear? I know I packed it. And, TONJA’S CHRISTMAS GIFTS ARE WITH THEM!” Important news that caused my ears to perk right up. “We MUST find the underwear, girls!” I said. But, we didn’t. And Don even went back to the other house to see if he left them there. He didn’t. I am also missing a few boxes of things I can not find. But, nothing as important as the underwear.

Today, we are on a mission…my Partners in Crime and All Things Fun and Frivolous…find the underwear…and whatever else may be lurking close by! 🙂