Reverb10 – Let Go

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Dec. 5 – Let Go
What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

It's hard for me to come up with something I've let go of this year; I've managed to avoid any really toxic relationships, my heart hasn't been broken since I've been with Jamie, and I've long since let go of my expectations of the pregnancy and childbirth experiences I didn't get to have. Over the course of this year, I have made several small changes to my life that I suppose could be considered “letting go”

Early in the year, we removed all of the high fructose corn syrup from our home. That's not to say that I don't indulge in the occasional roll of Smarties or a Pop Tart from time to time, but we've managed to clear out most of that evil filler from our refrigerator and pantry. (Side note: Shopping at Trader Joe's makes this task significantly simpler than if we only shopped at the big chain grocery stores)
On May 24th, I cut my hair. Guys reading this probably won't understand, but the women most likely will. In this society, long hair is so closely tied with femininity, beauty and sex, that many women refuse to cut it short, or their (male) partner won't “let” them. I can't tell you how many times I've heard “Oh, I've always wanted to try short hair! I'm so jealous you did it!” from friends of mine. I love my short cut, and can't imagine going back to the length I used to have, but to be totally honest, I probably wouldn't have done it without the complete and total support and “Go for it!” encouragement I got from Jamie.
I stopped wearing jeans to work on May 17th. I work in a casual office; my boss says it's “business casual” but it really is even a step down from that; I'm the graphic designer; I sit in a back room doing ad production all day. I'm not meeting with clients, I'm not in public view… I wore jeans and a t-shirt pretty much every day. I decided to stretch my fashion challenged muscles and decided to eliminate denim from my Monday-Friday wardrobe. I've actually enjoyed the daily challenge of assembling outfits, picking through my jewelry box to wear more than just my wedding rings, actually wearing some of the gorgeous shoes I've accumulated over the years (since I'm borderline utterly obsessed with shoes)
And finally, the most challenging and the most ongoing part, I am (we are) letting go of stuff. We're in the process of selling off our formerly-important-to-us 200+ DVD collection, passing on books we've already read to new homes… we've packed entirely too much crap into this house, and it's overtaking our lives, to the point that the thought of even grocery shopping is overwhelming, because bringing more “stuff” into the house seems like such a bad idea. It's a seemingly neverending, ongoing process, but we're ever so slowly making progress. Making space to breathe.