Light as a Feather

These days I’m in the process of dusting books and cleaning shelves — it’s spring-cleaning time in the library. Along with it arrives this thought: What if I were to lose all three thousand books in a fire, and what if that same fire destroyed our collection of irreplaceable family photographs and other treasured heirlooms and odds and ends? At one time, the thought that followed would have surprised me. But not anymore: As much as I love them, and enjoy taking care of them on behalf of the family and the books’ future owners, I would come away feeling as light as a feather. Easier said than done? Maybe; maybe not. But as I’ll be leaving them behind someday anyway, what difference can it make whether it’s sooner or later? The same goes for these pages.

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