It is better (and easier) to give than to recieve

Our closets are filling up with quickly with items that have been so generously donated to us by friends, family and strangers alike! Seriously folks, we don't "need" anymore clothes. We do appreciate it and want to be good receivers but right now we are good. Alyssa and I were talking today as I stared at the 4 t-shirts she owns when she told me "we have enough". And I have to agree, we do. We don't have as much, but we have enough and enough is all we need. It's interesting when you have nothing (ok I'm being dramatic, we had a 4 days worth of clothes) you really realize how little you actually need. I think we all, including the kids, want less now than we did before when we had more. I wish I could better describe it but I think it's just one of those things you can't explain or probably even understand until you have experienced it. I used to have a hard time parting with things, now I am having a hard time attaching to them - I think we all are.

Of course there are things that I want like my e-mail to work, and the insurance fairy to just hand me a check but unfortunately those are not things you, my loving, caring, support group can provide for me. But soon enough, I will have them too (minus the fairy) in the mean time, I'll just wait. And I'll ask for encouragement, possibly a shoulder, and definitely some laughs, the best things in life really are free!

The news today is our phone is working! Woo hoo - the very first call?...A solicitor! Truly. How did they get the number, it was only hours old!!!

Tomorrow we meet with the company that will give us an estimate on what it will cost to clean up all the stuff that is salvageable from our garage and kitchen - yes, that comes out of the benefit :( And we will get the items our neighbors have been storing :)

Today Aidan was home sick again and I made lots of phone calls trying to get services turned off or switched. Boy did I hear some dumb questions. What part of "my house has burned down and is completely destroyed" would lead a person to ask when I will be returning the reciever? And then the doorbell rang and stuff started coming in from as far south as San Diego, and as far north as Montana! My mom and aunt came along with friends who delivered from multiple people and wow, the house was full. I was overwhelmed and looked for a dark corner to hide in while the whirlwind ensued. Low and behold when I emerged everything was put away and Alyssa had waaaay more than 4 t-shirts in her closet. And yes, she thinks she has too much.