Full Circle

Almost everyone carries around a bit of Mary Lee's affliction - procrastination brought on by indecision, fear, or convenience. I am no better, or perhaps a little worse than most, regarding the purging of unwanted or underused possessions.

I had almost abandoned Mary Lee's oak desk when I left South Carolina, and had I not taken the time to replace the thick, gray paint with two coats of clear, satin finish, that's exactly what I would have done. Yet, the smooth, tiger-grained desktop was familiar and comfortable with plenty of room for stacking books I intended to read, projects on the verge of completion, or bills I hoped to pay. It was a perfect desk for procrastination.

A few weeks ago, I offered the desk to my boss. A picture posted online sold the idea and and my boss promised to pick it up over the coming weekend. In preparation, I disassembled the sturdy reminder of another era, carefully removing the five heavy drawers and backing out six large wood screws that held the desktop in place. My work revealed a surprisingly lightweight but well constructed framework, mortised, blocked, and glued and engineered, I'm sure, with travel in mind.

I staged the desk for removal in the library near the front entrance of our house and made peace with giving up the desk. Over the next six weeks the nooks and hiding places created by the the neatly stacked drawers and desk frame filled up with everything from art supplies to laundry waiting for a ride to the cleaners. I felt channeled by Mary Lee. However, all the players in the simple exchange procrastinated or otherwise failed to follow through. And so the desk sat and waited for something to happen.

Then, I lost my job and Mary Lee's hoarding disorder made sense. You never can tell when you will need the things you plan to throw away. Better to just keep it all. So after more than 30 years of moving this desk on and off trucks, in and out of station wagons and cars, up and down stairs, in and out of rooms, the desk may have finally found a permanent home.

After filling a few cardboard boxes with family pictures, employee awards, and assorted "personal effects", I told my boss that I'd be needing the desk after all. Then I drove home, reassembled the desk, pushed it underneath the most light filled window in the room and starting working - an outcome only Mary Lee believed in.