Selling stuff, Buying community

I love selling stuff on craiglist.org.  It may sound crazy.  You may be thinking, "She means she loves making money selling stuff on craiglist." Of course that is part of the whole, but just part. IF you get past the people who contact you with some obscure plan in which they are trying to scam you out of money, email address, passwords or whatever (That dark sinister world of internet and identity theft crime), and you can get over the fear that someone is going to murder/rape you (which seems pretty unlikely if you are not using the "personals" section, and you use your judgement in making arrangements). Then you can really get down to the loving of the strange and awesome community of people out there to meet.  People who are so like you and so different from you.

My dishwasher is with the family of a soldier. It was a gift for his wife who found theirs way too loud. My mini fridge from college, the one that has a melted spot from my roomie leaving her curling iron on it too long (Thanks a lot Alison), it has moved back to campus, where I was told it will be used primarily as a beer fridge.  Colin's old high chair was purchased to make a matched set for a momma of twin boys.  She had searched for months because she wanted one to match the chair she had from her first child born in 2011. I just sold John's pap's microwave to a mom who is send her oldest daughter off to college next month.  It is really hard for her, but her daughter is so excited. The mom who bought Colin and Andy's  bumbo is not only fabulous, she has also become a facebook friend and another member of the local mom community who I love to bump into. They are all just things.  They don't hold my memories, my heart does.  My heart now also hold the image of these things with their new home, making new memories. THey wife who does dishes every night, and can catch up on her favorite show at the same time with out the dishwasher drowning the sound out.  Two twin 6 month old trying solids side by side in matching chairs.  A mom unpacking her overloaded car 4 hours from home trying to stay strong. I get my memories and their memories too.  I can see their faces, I know their stories.  It makes me feel closer to the great big world around me when I take a minute to realize how much the same we are.  The money I have made has been spent, but the memories all remain.