#WeekendCoffeeShare: Bye Bye February

Published on by Yinglan

If we were having coffee, I will tell you I am ready to say good bye to February and hello to March. February 2017 has been a meh month, a month with not many chances for daytime outing. It has been raining all week and I am ready for some sunshine and warm weather. hello-march

Honestly, I don’t mind the rain. It’s the mists that bothers me. I don’t like misty rain. It doesn’t do anything other than leaving a layer of dust.

If we were having coffee, I will also tell you I learned I have another cousin, one about my age. He is said to be my father’s nephew. It makes me wonder just how big my family is. Apparently my grandma withheld the information because of my grandpa. He’s the remote control of the family, the big brother who’s always watching, the antagonist who didn’t get along with any of his family. hoarding-disorder

If we were having coffee, I will tell you about a recently developed fear of mine. After hearing so many revelation from my grandma, I am starting to be afraid I might be turning into my grandpa. He was, like me, over-sentimental. He collected newspapers and papers. I collect my assignments and handouts from my school years. I have boxes full of assignments dated all the way back to high school freshmen year in the basement and hearing about my grandpa’s room full of old newspapers, old books, and magazines frightened me. What if I’m turning into him? Into…a…hoarder?

Finally, if we were having coffee, I will tell you I am looking forward to next week. On Thursday, I am visiting my grandma’s family in the country. One of my cousins just gave birth and we will be celebrating the baby turning one-month-old. In China, this is a very big deal and this calls for a feast for the entire family. After this feast, I will be going to another feast the following Monday, the 6th. A cousin from my mom’s father’s side is getting married.

So many feasts! Hopefully the weather will be better. I will have to drag myself to the tracks in the exercise park and run a mile or two between the feasts.

33 thoughts on “#WeekendCoffeeShare: Bye Bye February”

  1. It already looks like March is shaping up to be better. Take heart in that.
    Sometimes I wish I knew what it was like to be that connected to my extended family. Hm, does China even have differing concepts of “immediate” and “extended” family?

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  2. I think most Februarys are meh 😀 with the hoarding…I used to have a lot of clothes (at least they didn’t fit into my closet anymore), then I read a bit about minimalist lifestyle (there are many blogs about it) and then got rid of things I didn’t need anymore. Still not living minimalist, haha, but I don’t feel like my closet (and bookshelf!) are too crammed anymore! 🙂

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      1. I finally realized important I remember with out having something physical to remind. Everytime I look at papers regarding my father, I was upset. Ifinally burned them thinking I didn’t need the upset. It didn’t work whenever I think about it, I get upset. This true about my grandmothers whom I love. When ever I remember them it brings a smile or a joyous feeling.

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  5. Thanks for coffee, Yinglan. Much appreciated.
    Hoarding is a very complex issue and much more complicated than having too much stuff and not throwing important items out. I personally don’t like minimalism and find it can look quite sterile. At the same time, I am about to do a heave ho myself.
    Apparently,. create people can accumulate too much stuff when they have a run of ideas and it gets out of hand. I salvaged a box full of cuckoo clocks from my neighbour when he went into a nursing home. I am intending to make some kind of metal sculpture out of some of the parts, even though I’ve never done any welding in my life.
    I can see this kind of thinking being part of the pleasure and the problem.
    Maybe, you can pick the best out of the school things you’ve kept and photograph some of it. Reduce it a bit.
    Good luck with it.
    xx Rowena

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  6. Thanks for the coffee! I’m in the process of decluttering and come across sentimental things that are hard to part with. I’ve done what Rowena mentioned and took photos of the item. Perhaps you also could write a blog post (public or just keep it private) about the item, the history behind it and what it means to you. A way of honoring and memorializing it before putting it back out into circulation. Just a thought. Enjoy your family celebrations! Sounds like a great time.. 🙂

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    1. Honestly, there’s nothing special about the items, just school assignments I wish to keep for future reference. You’ll never know when an assignment can come in handy. As for some other things, I guess they’ll have wait seeing that I am away from home. Thank you for reading.

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  7. I’m looking forward to March too for the same reason! Sounds like you have an eventful March coming up soon with all the feasts and celebrations! You are learning a lot about your family since you have been in China. I doubt that you are becoming like your grandfather. Those assignment papers are meaningful to you right now but someday they won’t be.

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      6. Haha, no really, my mom calls me almost everyday at the most awkward timing imaginable and she’s still controlling my every move an ocean away. Besides, my aunt is a lot like her. 😀

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  11. I kept boxes of school notes for years and years. Seriously? I’m going to reread my Grade 3 science book? We moved and it was a golden opportunity to just chuck them. Big breath and heave-ho! It’s amazing the freedom you feel after. That’s paper. Things are a little more difficult. There are specialists out there who can help with this sort of thing…
    Enjoy all the celebrations!

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