Yard Sale

So my lovely wife decided we should have a yard sale. Yay me.

We spent a good week or so combing through our house, finding stuff we didn't use/want/need/care about. It all got piled into the garage, and at 7AM I was out there covering my driveway with stuff. The early birds showed up about 7:30, since we advertised 8AM. After the initial rush, things slowed considerably, and by 9:30 we were chilling in the shade on a couple of chairs, hoping SOMEONE would happen by and buy some of this shit. While sipping on a glass of lemonade my girls had been hawking (I get a discount - 50%! Nice, since I paid for all the supplies and set the damn stand up.) my mind wandered a bit, and three things occurred to me:

1. It looks a lot like my house threw up into my driveway.
2. I really don't like people picking through my shit.
3. What lay before me was an interesting little snapshot of my life.

Focusing on #3, it really was a little glimpse into my last 7 years or so. Scads of computer parts and other electronic gadgets in varying levels of obsolescence. A smattering of books I didn't much like. Toys, books and clothes from when the kids were younger. Furniture and crap that all seemed so important at some point, now with a little colored circle with a price not 1/10th of what we paid. Cassette tapes from our teen years - metal, punk and rock from me, dance and rap from my wife. VHS movies the girls watched so often I wanted to stab my eyes out, now cast to the curb in favor of Sponge Bob and the evil Hannah Montana.

In some small way, it was fun to look back, and sad to see some stuff go, like books I read over and over to the girls years ago. It also puts into perspective a bit how time changes the value of the crap we surround ourselves with. At one time, I'd have punched someone in the eye for trying to make off with my beloved Suicidal Tendencies tapes, now I find myself telling my neighbor "hell, I'll give ya 11 for a buck". The stuffed fish my daughter could not sleep without for 2 years goes for a quarter, and she giggles with glee over the sudden windfall. I wanted this stuff so bad at one point, now I can't wait to get rid of it. What will I discard in 5 years that looks important today?

In the meantime, can I interest anyone in this friggin' fish tank setup? C'mon, I'll even deliver...