It's Strange How a Random Possession Can Affect You Emotionally

It amazes me how a possession can be tied to strong memories and even when you know it's best to get rid of it, it's difficult simply because of that tie.

I had a recent example of this happening.

When I started trying to do photography for a living, I had many ideas of how to accomplish this goal. Some were crazy; some were too difficult to carry out; some cost too much to try.

But one idea that I was I thought was brilliant. It had to do with portraits and nursing homes. 

Back when I worked for Lifetouch (now Shutterfly) taking portraits of families for church directories, there was one church whose elderly didn't have a way to get there. One of the members mentioned that she wished that we had come on a different day - the day when a van picks them up and brings them to the church for senior activities.

I told her I was sorry but that we had no control over the schedule. And I really was. I hated that so many people potentially wanted portraits of them and maybe their families but couldn't get them.

After I left Lifetouch, I was still thinking about this issue. So I bought a studio backdrop stand, a few nice backdrops, and studio lighting. My plan was to take this setup to nursing homes and assisted living communities and offer to take photos of residents and their families if desired.

I thought through the logistics of doing this kind of shoot and figured it all out - pricing, distribution, etc. I recognized that many of them might not be able to figure out how to download the photos, so I set up a much more complicated system of having them printed and how I would distribute them.

After making flyers that described what I planned to do, I mailed and/or emailed all of the local senior living facilities... and waited for the huge positive response I would get.

I'm still waiting - several years later.

There wasn't one response... not one. Because cold calls are not in my wheelhouse, I didn't know what else to do, so I let the idea drop.

However, recently I interviewed a woman whose job is to help place seniors in assisted living facilities. I mentioned my idea to her and she loved it! She said she'd connect me with a lot of the homes and I got excited again about living out this idea.

Then I remembered... When my husband lost his job, I finally put my studio setup (minus the lighting) on Facebook Marketplace. I hadn't used it in a while and it was taking up a lot of space. 

It had been listed for a couple of months and had only had one or two who were even a little interested so I was in no hurry to take it down from Marketplace.

Then I got a serious inquiry. This man was starting photography and really needed backdrops. I talked to him about it, honestly thinking it would fall through like so many others that I had tried to sell things to.

But he didn't. I didn't want to back out - and I decided the money and space I would gain would be beneficial - so I sold it to him.

I had no idea the emotions that would be stirred up with that decision - the hopes and dreams I had at the beginning of this journey and all of the times it didn't work out; the anxiety that I had made the wrong decision to sell it; the happiness to get rid of something that felt like a weight around my neck (since it took up so much space and I wasn't using it). 

Even though I had such an emotional response, I met him at a Target parking lot and he paid me for it. I decided that it was done and I needed to move on. I could always get another one if I realized I really needed it. 

Post script: That money paid for a piece of furniture I've been desperately needing - so it really did all work out.