Scribbles and Scrambles ~ The American Dream ?

I think the American Dream used to be centered around courage and strength and good old-fashioned grit. You know, like John Wayne style.

People weren't afraid to work hard and break a sweat and make a decent days' wages. Just enough, not too much, but not too little.

They grew a lot of their own food and food wasn't tossed very often. My grandma quipped after I took her to visit the organic farm we worked at, "We ate organic when it wasn't cool, it just was what it was."

Somehow the American Dream has twisted itself into collections and toys and possessions. And that's bothersome. 

A few years ago I set a goal to get rid of 1000 things in a year's time. That goal was busted out in three months and I haven't stopped. Now that we are making room for four more people in our home the purging has intensified and I'm appalled at the amount of stuff we have accumulated because materialism had become part of our American Dream. 

This picture is the second large batch of stuff we are getting rid of in just a month. And there is more in the room. I just took a picture of half of it. The last load filled my husband's pick up. And I have actively been downsizing and purging for almost three years. 

This stuff is in the way of the life we want to live. Literally and figuratively. In order to make room for the ones we love we have to get rid of mere stuff. Stuff that required space, upkeep, dusting and hard earned money. Good riddance.