(This post was supposed to go out last Thursday, but as usual – you can plan and plan, but you never know how things will turn out)

Today is a good day. Well, every day we are alive is a good day, isn’t it? But today is even better.

Today we were thrown out of the rehabilitation hospital. OK, we didn’t get thrown out, but my son is in a very stable state and doesn’t need the extra night-care that is given at the hospital. Since we live relatively close to the hospital (that is, one hour drive), and there are other kids that have more need for his bed, the head doctor asked us if we minded moving to daily hospitalization. After some thoughts, weighting the pros and cons, the fears and more fears, we decided to jump to the opportunity.

So my wife started packing all of the stuff we had accumulated during our 4 months of hospitalization: toys, books, soap, shampoo, body lotions, more toys, food just in case we got hungry in the middle of the night or if our son didn’t like the food in the cafeteria, detergent, more toys, coffee and tea, more toys. It ended like this:

(and this was in a hospital room with another kid in the same room)

This made me think how much we cling to all of the “stuff” that we have. It wasn’t like we didn’t go home each weekend, or had the opportunity to jump home almost each day. And the supermarket was just a block around…

We just need all of this stuff to feel secure, like we are in a comfortable place because we are surrounded by things that are ours. Stuff gives us a sense of security.

But on the other hand, it weights us down. If we want to move, we need to take all of the stuff with us. We have gotten used to it. Packing it all takes time, effort, and LOTS of space. And then it makes us slower, weighting us down. And it’s not only a physical burden, it also weights on our brains. Do we have this and that? Do we need more? What are we missing?

It takes great courage to live with less stuff. Stuff does not create certainty in life, as I know firsthand. It creates a false sense of security that can break in one second, and all you are left with is… just stuff.

So live experiences and have a good time. These are memories that last forever. Stuff just comes and goes.

P.S. my wife will surely say that I need to start practicing what I teach 🙂