Sorting, Sorting, Sorting

I don't know who reads my blog, aside from my sister, but I'm relatively certain that some people can relate to today's topic: getting organized.  I'm 67 years old.  It's about time I did that, isn't it?  Get organized, I mean?  I am one of those happy little procrastinators who sets things aside to deal with later, then days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months....then years...and so it goes.  Then, seemingly all of a sudden, the enormity of what I have let go hits me.  Do I want to leave this mess for my daughter to deal with after I croak?

When I was still teaching and taking care of my daughter and grandchildren who lived with me, I promised myself that I would take care of the organization stuff when I retired and had more time. Then I did retire--and the bottom fell out of my world.  (Awful memories that I do not care to revisit now.)  But now, here it is five years later, and I have a whole bunch of loose ends to tie up.  In fact, there are so very many loose ends that you can just call me Loose-End Lucy!

For example, I have let junk mail pile up in the house.  The last batch--a month's worth while I was up at Megan's--was quite big.  Rarely is there anything in it but junk; however, when I started to sort through it last night (finally) I found some important things mixed in.  Of course, I can't just throw away the junk.  My church gets money from recycled paper, so I bag it all up to take to the church...but then I have to step over the bags until I get it to the car to take there.  Right now, there are three bags...  Then, too, gals at the church crochet waterproof mats out of plastic grocery bags, so I hang onto those to recycle at church, too.  I swear those things breed while they are in my pantry!  I have MANY of them in need of a trip to the church, if for no other reason than for me to be rid of them.  Until that it sone, it becomes a loose end to deal with.

What to do with the things that aren't junk mail?  I set them aside to deal with later...but it's already "later"...so you see what I'm getting at:  loose ends.  I'm in the process of trying to make files for everything, but my mind wanders.  I keep so much stuff for sentimental reasons--or because maybe somebody else can use it--when it really just needs to be pitched.  Efficiency experts say "Just touch it once to determine its fate--donate, discard, or save".  Easy for them to say!

Here is an example of a loose end thing that drives me crazy.  My brother died on the last day of 2005.  He was never married and had cut ties with his sisters years before; nevertheless, when he suddenly passed, his sisters were his next of kin.  It was up to us to provide a funeral for him, which with did with as much dignity and respect that a brother and military veteran deserved.  We had him cremated, as was his wish, and spread his ashes over our family's chosen cemetery (also his wish).  But that was nine years ago, as time flies, and now it is time to provide a marker for him.  The military provides one, if applied for.  Sounds simple enough.  Ha!  First of all, in order to apply for Doug's marker, we have to have his discharge papers from the Navy...his DD214.  Lost to us!  Thus, here is the chain of events that I have gone through or will go through just to get the marker:
1.  Apply for a copy of the lost DD214.  (Done, as of early April.  It takes 6-8 weeks to process.)
2.  Call the cemetery board to get permission to place a marker on a grave site owned by my family.  We need permission because no one in the family seems to have the deeds to the graves, nor does the Recorder of Deeds in Livingston County, IL.  (Done back in January or February.  The man that I talked to said that he would get back to me in a couple of days.  I'm still waiting.)
3.  Call the funeral home that did the services for my bro to make sure we haven't forgotten anything.  (Done back in January or February, and was assured that I was on the right track.)
4.  Once the DD214 is received, apply for the marker from Veterans Affairs.  (See #1.)
5.  Call the monument company in IL to alert them to receive the marker and have it set, once permission is received (See #2) and the marker has been approved and/or sent (See #1 and 4).
6.  Hope for the best!

Having these loose ends hanging over my head drives me insane.  I like things tied up in neat little packages, but life just isn't like that.  The problem is that there are so many other little processes in the works in my existence that I am begging God not to take me home until I can tie some of those loose ends up!  I'm working on it, God.  Really, I am!

If this post seems disjointed, it's because it is!  I actually have had recurring dreams about just this sort of thing for forty years or more--dreams in which I am sorting through messes to bring order to a new place with beautiful potential.  The dream frustration is, however, that I never totally succeed.  I don't think we need Sigmund Freud to figure this one out.  Loose End Lucy has too much chaos in her life for someone who lives alone and has no one else to blame for it!