None of the adults in my family are exchanging gifts this year, partly due to the economy, but also due to the amount of **** that people end up accumulating in a lifetime. My Mother went into a nursing home this summer and my Father has started to empty their house of 50 years of things they saved and thought they needed to save. Not hoarders by any stretch but just things that accumulate over time. He called last night to tell me that if I'm bringing the kids school pictures up at Christmas time to not bother getting frames - he's got plenty of them from past years.
We'll spend more time together enjoying each other's company - It's the memories we need to save, not the stuff.
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Some guys they just give up living
And start dying little by little, piece by piece,
Some guys come home from work and wash up,
And go racin' in the street.
Bruce Springsteen - Racing In The Street - 1978
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