Letting go

I just can’t seem to let go…of anything. I am the “garbage collector” as my father has pointed out on numerous occasions. Trying to re-use old stuff is my hobby and stashing it away to be used later is an obsession. But, as someone rightly said; tomorrow never comes. Everything kept aside to be put to good use in the future never ever sees the light of day. And so it was, that last week Muniamma (the lady who helps out at my home) asked me if I could give any of Y’s old clothes for a neighbour of her’s who’d just had a baby boy. My instant response, I hate to admit was a lie. I told her that I had already promised to give away his clothes to someone else. But the moment she walked out, I felt really really rotten. Here was this lady, poor and for want of a better means of livelihood helping me out with the cleaning of my home, doing the dishes and the laundry asking for help for her poor neighbour. And all I did was lie to her because I didn’t know how to say ‘no’. It was not just about saying ‘no’, was it? It was about turning a blind eye to people of her ilk, who struggle to put food on the table everyday. Living by on ‘hand-me-downs’ is more the norm than an exception. I was finding it difficult to let go, to give away my beloved baby’s clothes. Afterall, he is just a year old and not too long ago was using those oh-so-cute outfits. Better sense prevailed and I did manage to give her many more outfits than I had initially set out to. Letting go is never easy!