Just saying …

Part of my personal history must be what I say and think of saying.  Just a few examples:

(To family:) “You can wake up now.”

(Waiting behind cars at a stop light, to prompt drivers:) “You can go now!”

(Explanation:) “I always sit in the back row, so I can see all the people … especially the latecomers.”

(Wishful thinking:) “I want to attend Relief Society, but I really wouldn’t fit in.”

(Personal planning:) “Monday is my day of rest.”

(To clarify — avoid ambiguity, especially on Sunday:) “It's next week, not this week.”

(Admiring new cars in a showroom, am I interested?) “Yes!”  (Am I looking to buy?)

“I prefer not to.”  (Why?) “I prefer not to say.”

(Not in sales training manuals.  Always works.)

(Aging thing:) “I forgot, so I Google-searched.”

(Good news after 25 moves, smiling:) “My peaceful, top-floor apartment is facing west … for the sunset of my life. I will never move again.”

(Getting more personal, revealing:) “My TV is still in the box. I prefer to read.”

(Introduction in ARP group I support:) “I’m Ned, a recovering collector.”

(Keeping life simple:) “I’m a wannabe minimalist.”

(From my experience:) “Healthy, favorite snacks: oatmeal raisin cookies and dark chocolate.”

Speaking for many Utahns, “My all-time favorite main course is funeral potatoes.”

(At church and concerts:) “I like an empty seat next to me, in case my wife Kay takes a break to sit and visit. It’s about love.”

Just saying.

Gift hunting vs. collecting

Confession: I am a recovering collector.  Every day in my spare time, I am gifting, donating, recycling, or discarding.  The path to become a minimalist is not easy for a collector by nature.  In the beginning was my copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau with “simplify, simplify” underlined.  Years later, I’m still working on it, hoping to leave little to burden our children when I pass.  I can’t take it with me.   

Recently a Treasure Trove store opened nearby to test my resolve, especially on one-dollar Wednesdays, for hunting valuable gifts.  My limit of $4 is easily reached in two minutes of scanning piles of cool merchandise … with restraint.  

Gift hunting (shopping) shows my weakness or strength.  For example, I learned years ago to not wait until Christmas Eve, and to buy additional gifts during clearance sales afterwards … to save for Three Kings Day (Epiphany) on January 6th.  (Party on!)  So, gift hunting all year gets me in the holiday mood early.  On the other hand, finding gifts in my home is a challenge … and a nice surprise a year later.  Nevertheless, KIS is my goal: keep it simple.