My Kindle and My Shovel

Packing.  Much of my mental space the past week has been taken up with thinking about what to bring in our 6 checked bags, 6 carry-on bags, and 2 bonus carseat bags.  That's all we're hoping to pack in for a year, with a few bonus items coming with friends and family at later dates.  It seems like too many bags and not enough space at the same time.  How will it all fit?  How will we disperse the weight?  What toys and games are worth the precious space and weight?  What is necessity vs. want?  Should I buy it here, or get it there? And how in the world are we going to navigate customs with all these bags!?!

So recently I asked Quincy what he wanted to bring to Lithuania.  His response, "My Kindle and my shovel."

"Your shovel?" I asked.

"Well," he said, "we're going to have a backyard and I'm going to need to dig a hole."

First, you should know that we have a 5x8 foot hole in our backyard, a spot where Quincy and his friends have free reign to do whatever they want the past 2 years.  The sandbox just didn't satisfy his digging needs.  This hole has been many things, from a pool to an office building, but has provided a great source of entertainment and creativity.

(This picture is from June 2012, the inaugural dig.  The hole has been here for a while and has grown quite a bit since then, as have the kids!)

And second, he's had his favorite little metal shovel since his 5th birthday, such a great gift from a neighbor-builder friend of ours.  He's had that shovel for 4 1/2 years, and it's still something he uses consistently.

What I love about Quincy's response is that it indicates he's not too attached to stuff at this point (and that he loves to read, finally!).  And that the stuff that he likes tends to foster creativity, interaction, and isn't necessarily something new.  I asked about Legos, games, other toys--that was really all he wanted.  A kindle and a shovel.  I love Quincy for so many reasons, he just keeps adding to the list!

For me, this conversation highlights one of our goals for this year: to learn to live more simply than we do right now.  We have a big house, we have four kids, and sometimes managing the stuff can be a bit more time-consuming than it should be.  And I'm pretty sure stuff management is not even on the long list of what God wants us to spend our time doing.

Our apartment next year will be roughly 140 sq meters (that's 1500 sq ft for those not using the metric system), about half the size of our house.  For so many reasons, we can't and won't have access to all the things we are used to having.  I'm sure it will be a challenge plenty of times, but I'm praying it will also help shift our perspective.  That living without so much stuff fosters a sense in me, in our kids, in all of us moving forward, that our lives not be consumed with the stuff.

I pray we replace that time being fully present with each other, paying attention to what God is showing us, and being still enough to hear His still small voice in the midst of it all.  That we spend energy focusing on new experiences we have with each other, building the connectedness of our family, and learning what it means to live in a different part of God's kingdom.

A year is a long time, hopefully long enough un-do some bad habits and replace them with good ones.

And in case you are curious, the shovel didn't make the packing list (it seems to be too risky a choice for customs), but it is on the potential list of things to buy once we get there!