How it all started...
We enlisted the services of this awesome guy who is a teacher and paints on the side. Grant and I fell in love with the work he's done so far. I got inspired. We are painting our apartment and I am feeling like nesting! So it's time to tackle our "stuff!"
Our office:
Grant and I are supposed to be sharing an office space. He just got a newer computer, and we have a huge table to fit all of our "stuff." I can't seem to get myself in this office, because it feels crowded...Why you ask, because grant has tons of books and binders and folders, and note pads and magazines lining the wall. These items take up two rows on the longest wall in the office. Because of our lovely Australian shepherd mixed dog, and her excessive shedding, fur collects on these items. Nevertheless, I hate being in there!
So we decide, I decide to tackle all of Grant's stuff. I have noticed that if I start the conversation before I drop him off for the train, he is usually in agreement! We discussed this plan for about 4 days on our commute to the Metra. Grant in agreement the whole way! That is...until Friday night! When I suggest that we get going on this project, Grant starts with his usual...Oh I forgot I have this paper due...or shoot, when will I get all this work done.etc. I don't fall for it! I tell him to start on dinner, and I'll meet him in the office!
We start, and I can tell this won't be as easy as I thought.
I completely understand making connections to books, and college notes, and other topics that one might think they are connected to...however, I don't understand how this man who seems very simple at heart is connected to magazines he hasn't even opened. We argued about why he needed to keep said magazines, and I thought after I make him open each one, and read through, he'll just toss at the thought of the extra work...NOPE. He proceeded to find one piece in each magazine that was worth saving. And then there were the Russian note cards...
This was my favorite part...We started going through his notes and books from his course work studying Russian. He was adamant that he needed to keep the text and workbooks. I completely understand this…however; he also needed to keep the notes he took along with a shoebox of note cards…WHAT?? When I pushed why he needed both, he proceeded to explain that they (notecards) took him so long to make, so why would he toss them.
We had to table that conversation to dig into his collection of books written in Russian, which, he couldn’t read anymore!
With some time to sleep on the organizing, and a lot of laughter, Grant was willing to part with a lot of items. We are down to 5 boxes of his things from the office, and a hefty pile of items to sell on half.com.
What I learned:
My partner is incredibly complex. He’s really caring, and makes place for all the things that meaningful. I have to be willing to accommodate him when he builds a strong connection to things, so not to go through this stress every couple of years. Here’s to Love and Marriage!
