Garage Sale

We're checking off the summer traditions. First camping, now a garage sale. This one trumps camping in goofiness by far, I feel.

I am standing out in the sun putting 50cents stickers on most of my stuff. Many of the things are things I picked up at another garage sale.

I will not make enough money to make my effort worthwhile, but there is something in the human psyche that makes trading irresistible. I read whole books about this in graduate school. I am sickened by the glut of stuff I have as I begin to thin it out, will not make a dent in it with this sale, will ultimately have to donate most, but still, I am out here pricing things. A move looms in our future, and this is just a nasty little preview of it. For my daughter, the planner of this sale, it is a serious purge. We just happened to have the premier location for the sale.

The best part will be hanging out with the neighbors, who will come and paw through my things, suspending for an instant, the wall of privacy that separates us. The kids will sell cookies and lemonade, recent immigrants and resellers will come early to try to beat the crowds for our furniture. I know the script.

Papa and I will have to work very hard to pace ourselves over this weekend so that we can continue on with our summer in good humor. His knee is hurting, and I am fatigued, but we are still enjoying life. Let the swap meet begin.