I have pumpkins on my porch in January.

It’s probably pissing off my neighbors.

They just sit there, like two derelict, sunny sentinels.

Defiant little things outside of their season.

But I have to do something about them.

I can’t rely on them to rot away to nothing in the spring.

They’re sheltered under the awning of the front porch.

They could just sit there, fossilized and very, very orange for a long time.

Until next fall, even!

(That gives a whole new meaning to the notion of recycling something, doesn’t it?)

The pumpkin problem

I’m stuck.  I feel kind of bad about the notion of getting rid of them.

They’re survived for so long!

It seems heartless to just throw them out.

Yeah.

I know.

It’s a weird thing to be sentimental about, perhaps.  But there you are.

Just one of my many soft spots.

But enough about old pumpkins.

Sometimes we just need to sort through.

And sort through.

And get rid of.

And swap out.

Things that need sorting

Picture a big box, full of stuff.

A box in your home you pull all the odds and ends into.  All the unfinished projects, one offs, and spare parts.

Maybe it’s a drawer.  Or a closet.  But I’m willing to bet you have one of these.  A junk drawer of some kind.

But I’m not writing about junk drawers today either.  Not really.

Our minds and hearts can end up like that box—brimful of odds and ends, homeless things, ideas that never quiet flew.

Pain that never quite eased.

Things that need to go, but haven’t yet.

Often, this is what brings people into therapy.

The “junk drawer” in your mind

Sometimes people come into therapy with their hair on fire.  They’re in crisis.  They need relief.  Immediately.

But just as many of us come in because we have some things to sort out.

And how many people do you know and trust to sit by you as the sorting happens?

Who won’t say,

“Are you sure you wanna keep that?”

in that voice that tells you that you clearly shouldn’t.

Or get bored, distracted, and wander off part way through.

Or wince at your sorting, such that you want to put it all away and spare them the details.

Therapists are valuable sorting companions.

We have junk boxes and drawers and skeletons in closets of our own.  It’s our humanness that makes us good at what we do.

It’s our January pumpkins and our sad days and the cat hair on our collar that really helps us understand and connect with you.

Life can be messy and cluttered!

It helps to have someone assist with the sorting process.

Could you use some help in sorting through?

Are you looking for counseling in Austin?

Consider setting up a free consultation with me.

I’d be happy to talk more with you about it!

Want some more ideas?  Try Emotional spring cleaning how to’s!

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Last year:  7 signs you give too much

Two years ago:  The life you’re supposed to have