I had a great opportunity to work on this goal today. In his eagerness to move to Florida before his classes at the Art Institute (next week), my brother Josh moved to Mom’s house in St. Pete before selling his own house here in Springfield, IL. I’m sure he didn’t intend for this to become a huge inconvenience for those of us still stuck in the Land of Lincoln, but it’s been one issue after another since he left. First of all, he didn’t clean out his refrigerator. I don’t mean there were a few condiments in the door and full ice cube trays; the entire fridge and freezer both were crammed full of food… which my grandma and I had to clean out for him. He also left cat food sitting out and a litter box full of used litter.

(Okay, at this point, I feel the need to defend Josh, like I always do. For one thing, he’s the baby of the family. For another, he’s an artist and right-brained in the extreme. The combination of those two factors has created a deficit in his common sense.)

My grandparents, my husband, and I took care of all that. He also left tons of furniture – some in decent condition, some not so much. One of his friends (the same friend who told him he’d take all the food) was supposed to come get some of the furniture but never did. My dad was supposed to pick up my uncle’s amp and return it to him, but as of Tuesday of this week, it was still there.

Plus, Dad was supposed to mow the lawn once a week so the yard looks nice for prospective buyers; he’s yet to do that. This has actually turned out to be the biggest issue. Josh has been gone since the first week of July. My grandparents (bless their anxious little hearts) have fretted over the yard situation ceaselessly. Eventually, Josh’s friend mowed the lawn the first time, but then Dad didn’t come around to do it the second time…

I think you get the picture. The point is that every time one of these issues comes up, I get two separate emails – one from Mom and one from Grandma – and occasionally a phone or two bitching about Dad and/or asking me to help rectify the situation.

First of all, I’m 29 years old. If I haven’t learned to stand up to Dad by now, chances are it won’t happen. Secondly, I’m a little irked at Josh for leaving this mess for everyone else to fix. I’m also irritated with Mom and Grandma for blowing the situation way out of proportion. When I got two emails today asking if I’d mind buying some “colorful” planters to decorate Josh’s porch to add to the “curb appeal,” I was seriously annoyed.

Then I took a deep breath, reminded myself how much I love all of them, and replied to both Mom and Grandma’s emails telling them I’d be more than happy to help out. After all, they’ve both done so much for me in the past few months; it’s the least I can do to help them out. I even emailed Dad to remind him to pick up the amp before the Salvation Army comes for the rest of the furniture next Wed.

So. Not only did I let go of my anger (after only a moment), but I also think this contributed to another goal on my list: express my gratitude to the people who enhance my life. Not too shabby for just letting go. =^)