Cleaning House

My husband and I decided in May of this year to stay in the home we've shared for forty of the forty-four years we've been married. Great. Wonderful, in fact, except that we also decided to remodel and update. Ah, wonderful again, you say. Downstairs, yes, I agree and that has gone well with the exception of putting the kitchen on the backburner until after Christmas. So, next we hone in on the upstairs. Now this, too, sounds great on the surface...except no one has occupied that space since our daughter moved to her own apartment in 1993! My husband says I'm the only woman he knows that needs 1,000 square feet of space for storage. Ha! While I feel he should appreciate the fact that I saved him storage building fees for all those years, I gathered myself up and started cleaning out all the "stuff".

Now, I've said all that to say this: How in the world did I collect the number of books that are sitting up there gathering dust?

I love books. All sizes, shapes, condition, subject; you name it, I've bought it. I love the feel and the smell of them, and, for a long time, it was important for me to see all of the ones I'd read. Used bookstores are the best for getting one's fix and for a few years, I knew where all of them were for several counties. I own collections from Sandra Brown and Jayne Ann Krentz(every book they've ever written, including all their pseudonyms), Lynda Lael Miller, Nora Roberts, J.D. Robb, Mary Higgins Clark, Carol Higgins Clark, Jennifer Cruisie, Linda Howard, Merline Lovelace, Cindy Dees, and on and on. There are research books out somebody's wazoo, obviously not mine since they've been buried up there for who knows how long.

So, this week, I decided to get over myself. I've taken bags and bags of my good friends to Half-Price Books accepting the pittance offered. You'll be so proud of me, though, for I only kept the books that are autographed...three book shelves, three rows deep, plus a few hardbacks and a few research books. You are proud of me, aren't you? Hello??