Special offer

TBT-Memories of the past

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance

Hello everyone-In the quest to get rid of more stuff so I can make sure I have the room for the necessities moving forward into the future I have been taking pics of old photos so I can eliminate a container but still have the pictures and the memories.

So today has been a trip down memory lane. It is hard thinking many of the people in the pictures are gone from here. Mom and I moved here 11 yrs ago the 26th of this month and in that period of time many relatives passed away. All of my Dad's family. He was the oldest of 5. My Mom was an only child and while some of her extended family is gone some are still alive. Goes to show life is about change.

As I transition from a life I have known to a life of more change I will do my best to forge ahead and make new memories and embrace whatever life has in store for me in this new path. The sad thing is Mom was just 2 yrs older than I am when Dad passed away after 42 yrs of marriage yet she didn't really do much after my Dad died.

I vowed that I would not just spend whatever time I have left in a rut not really living but existing. I remember sitting on the couch in her home after she had passed and thinking about all the time she spent on that couch in the 27 yrs she lived after Dad died and saying you made a choice to do that Mom but I will NOT do that.

Stepping into the unfamiliar is scary and I have thought more about that and for Mom what could have been is gone but for me I still hopefully have several years left to explore and take those steps into a more fulfilling and exciting life full of new experiences. I think the scarier thing is to get to the end of your life and not really lived life to the fullest. I do understand to a point of WHY Mom never did anything after Dad died even though she was free to do so.

She was too scared of the unfamiliar and she was still trapped in her mind and that is really sad. I remember her saying shortly after we moved here that she had been unhappy for a long time.  God knows I tried over the years to make her happy but I believe you are as happy as you make up your mind to be.

I could choose to be unhappy about things that happened after Mom died or be unhappy that my body hurts everyday and there is no pain pill to lessen it but I have chosen instead to move forward past that one day at a time. The emotional is actually easier than the physical but I am determined to enjoy whatever time I have left and relish each new day with a sense of peace, serenity and make it FUN. It would be awful to think of being unhappy for a long time and not doing anything to change that if you could. We are the captain of our ship and we steer the boat towards the future.  There is a song I heard quite a while back that is so true about life.

Now among the pictures,cards and letters today there was also this plaster of paris imprint of my hand when I was just 5 yrs old and I turned 61 last month so it has survived all my changes in life and moves.  Letting go of the past and forging ahead and embracing life is my mantra as I write a new chapter with that 61 yr old hand.

 

Posted by

Sharon Lee

Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Thanks for a memorable journey, Sharon. You certainly have the right attitude despite all that has happened. I love that photo of your hand! I think it's so cool you still have that, and love how you ended your post with it!

Jeff

Jun 22, 2017 03:34 PM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Jeff Dowler -Thank you and I also have cards from Mom dating back to when I was 35 maybe even 30. I do my best to keep that attitude because it really doesn't change anything with a bad one.

Jun 22, 2017 04:27 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Sharon-I've told you this before but I'm more than excited for you and your next adventure. BTW I'm listening to the video as I type this. God willing, we'll all get older. I've been scanning lots of pre-digital era photos and it's hard to believe that so much time has passed. 

You hold on to your positive attitude and keep looking forward!

Jun 22, 2017 05:40 PM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Kathy Streib -I am excited as well. I know and it really hit me as I was laying out the family photos on Mom and Dad's side and while there are younger members on both sides who are living I don't know any of them. I knew the ones that are all gone now and it makes me know time has passed and will continue to so I am going for it while I can. If I don't I believe I will regret it. I will hang on to that positive because the negative attitude doesn't get you anywhere.

Jun 22, 2017 06:01 PM
Kathy Streib

Good! I'm counting on it!!! 

Jun 22, 2017 06:07 PM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

I cleaned out my garage a couple of years ago, in the quest to get it organized.  I was amazed at what I found out there.  It was a testament to holding on to things far too long.

Jun 23, 2017 05:29 AM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Kathy Streib -Not always easy with the physical but I am determined to live my best life.

Myrl Jeffcoat -It is amazing how much stuff I had for one person.

Jun 23, 2017 06:39 AM
Sheila Anderson
Referral Group Incorporated - East Brunswick, NJ
The Real Estate Whisperer Who Listens 732-715-1133

Good morning Sharon Lee. I hope your positive attitude carries you to many happy places.

Jun 23, 2017 06:41 AM
Brian England
Ambrose Realty Management LLC - Gilbert, AZ
MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

You are such a wonderful woman!  I pray that you will always be happy in life!  It seems there is always something that will remind us of the past, whether it be a good or bad memory.

Jun 23, 2017 07:17 AM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Sheila Anderson -I do too and thank you

Brian England -Thank you for your kind words and yes memories good or bad are a part of us but I am doing my best to forget the bad ones and remember the good ones and go forward making good ones.

Jun 23, 2017 07:50 AM
Brian England

It's best to allow the good ones to keep us going, no point in dwelling on bad memories!

Jun 23, 2017 07:59 AM
Belinda Spillman
Aspen Lane Real Estate Colorful Colorado - Aurora, CO
Colorado Living!

I love that Kenny Chesney song and it is all so true.  Life does pass by before our eyes.  Thanks for sharing your story today.

Jun 23, 2017 09:48 AM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Belinda Spillman -You are welcome and it does indeed.

Jun 23, 2017 10:16 AM
Gayle Rich-Boxman Fishhawk Lake Real Estate
John L Scott Market Center - Birkenfeld, OR
"Your Local Expert!" 503-739-3843

Sharon, you have that unusual ability to look at your own life objectively and to stand outside of yourself and look in and decide what will work and what to get rid of. That is an honorable trait that many (many) of us don't possess. Change, and embracing it, full frontal can create such incredible new moments if we embrace it as you are! 

Jun 28, 2017 02:19 PM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Brian England -I agree wholeheartedly. I miss your 2nd comment til now.

Gayle Rich-Boxman Fishhawk Lake Real Estate -With as much time as I spent with Mom over the years I learned what I wasn't going to accept. I loved Mom but she was a tough nut to crack and that made it hard. Now one of the things losing Mom brought front and center is a sense of my own mortality and that life moves forward and now I am completely on my own even though I had been on my own for many years previous to caring for Mom and there will be no one to take of me later on or anyone to give stuff to. Better to rid myself of anything that I don't absolutely need to get by and use that money for what I need now. I am embracing it as much as I possibly can. I am thinking a year from now how much I will have grown with my new path. Thank you for your thoughtful response. I always appreciate your kindness and comments.

Jun 28, 2017 03:04 PM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hi Sharon -- cleaning - clearing - organizing ---- all good things in my opinion.  It opens you to the possibilities.  And there are many of them.   

Jul 02, 2017 05:51 AM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Michael Jacobs -I agree there are and I am open to all good possibilities

Jul 02, 2017 06:34 AM
Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Time is swift and waits for no one. I really liked the 5 year old hand print. I also believe there are no coincidences so it was a reminder that the blink from 5 to 61 is real but do not live forward in fear. I think you are on track with your future so be positive.

Jul 02, 2017 04:03 PM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Gary Woltal -That it is and it is front and center in my brain. I am really not afraid going forward but I do want to be as smart as possible and make the best choices I can make for myself.

Jul 02, 2017 04:36 PM
Gary Woltal

I think each choice you are making Sharon is excellent and well thought out. My goal is to be half as good a planner as you and then I can conclude I am a success. Planning is your strength, you do not want to overthink something, or regret or doubt yourself, but never forget it is your strength. You are the master of the details. Something I would delegate to YOU!! At least I know my strength is more like beer drinking.

Jul 03, 2017 10:09 AM
Gloria Todor
Premier Property Sales & Rentals - Springfield, PA
& Doug Durren (484) 431-3686 in SE PA

Sharon, That is a great way to hold onto things from the past by taking photos then letting them go physically.  Great hand print and a way to mark time.  You will have to go to the west coast in your RV and make foot and hand prints in the sand along the Pacific Ocean!  And on the shores of the great lakes,along the Mississippi, in the sands along the Gulf Coast.....

Wishing you all the best!

Jul 11, 2017 09:04 AM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Gloria Todor -I will do that for sure. Thank you I appreciate that.

Jul 11, 2017 03:23 PM
Sharon Lee
Sharon Lee's Virtual Assistance - Jonesborough, TN
Retired and loving life

Hi Gary Woltal -I missed your comeback somehow. I need a happy medium on the overanalyzing thing. I am detail oriented person that needs to be a bit more of a big person like you. I have made a LOT of dumb decisions and want to make a LOT less going forward. You have the beer drinking mastered no doubt there.

Jul 11, 2017 03:29 PM