Technically, this is day 2 of “31 Days of Tying Up Loose Ends” but, this is my first loose end post.

I really wanted this post to be special since it is essentially the kick-off point of this entire endeavor. I’m sitting at my desk at roughly 9:30pm and my back is killing me because I’ve spent the day “beasting out” (as Kate would say) a major loose end. That one is going to be a big reveal later on because there’s no way it’s picture friendly yet.

While I was kicking total tail in the beasting department (wow, I’m going to stop using that term because it just doesn’t sound the way I am meaning it) my husband was out enjoying the ultimate tied up loose end.

Sometimes tying up loose ends really means letting go. We hung on to two huge projects for over ten years because of all the emotions and family history tied to the projects. When we finally let go and faced our fears, we found more blessings in the process than we could have ever imagined.

When we got together he was a never married guy with a canary yellow Harley Sportster. A couple of years later he inherited The Valdez, a ’78 Harley Shovelhead, from his dad. He had many memories of riding alongside his dad as his dad roared down the road on that bike. The Valdez got it’s name because it leaked oil, a lot of oil. That didn’t deter Mike from wanting to stop the leaks and do all the things to it that his dad never got a chance to do. Mike sold the Sportster and used the money to take The Valdez apart and begin restoring it.

Then came a few mishaps, limited time, and the budget tightened. The Valdez was reduced to a freshly painted frame, chrome, and parts carefully organized and labeled in storage bins in the garage.

When my father-in-law passed away Mike also ended up with his 1964 Chevy 4×4 truck that Pops had bought brand new in 1965 when Mike was a year old. Mike has many memories of sleeping in the floorboard on night long hunting trips with his dad. From bumper to bumper that truck is nonstop memories for him. I remember pulling up in front of my house after work and seeing the old truck there knowing Pops had stopped in for dinner on his way home from cancer treatments, so the memories were there for me too.

The truck still ran, but was in need of some body work, paint, and a complete overhaul and restore on the interior. Mike worked on it when he could, kept it running, but with 3 kids and a job the big restoration project didn’t happen.

We planned to give the truck to our son and pass the restoration project on to him. It was a great lesson in parenting as we learned hands on that sometimes what we want for our kids doesn’t quite line up with what they want. It was okay and there were no hard feelings about it. But, there we sat with a truck that we had no use for and didn’t have the budget to restore to the point it deserved to be in. Reluctantly, Mike listed it for sale.

Flylady often says to “bless” someone with the things you don’t love or aren’t useful to you anymore. I’ve never found this to be more true than in this case. A gentleman from Wisconsin (how bizarre is that?) found Mike’s ad and called him. He wanted the truck to restore it. When he heard the story of the truck he was so moved that he promised Mike that he would send him pictures throughout the process and of course, a final picture of the finished project. He assured Mike that it was going to a good home where it would be loved and appreciated. The truck left our driveway two days after my husband’s birthday a week or so ago.

The truck was probably the hardest thing for Mike to let go of, but it ended up being really rewarding. In turn, Mike took the money from the motorcycle and the truck and came across a deal on a motorcycle that was almost unbelievable, but certainly not too good to be true, it was definitely a blessing. It was his dream motorcycle, a 2000 Harley Road King, in excellent condition and within his budget.

While we loved the old truck (often utilizing it in our holiday decorations as it sat proudly in our driveway) it’s nice not to have the guilt of the unfinished project hanging over our heads. It’s nice to have freed up the driveway space. It was wonderful to give it a loving home. It’s wonderful to have the garage clear of clutter that wasn’t being loved or used and most of all it was wonderful to see the result of tying up all these loose ends:

The girls and I have affectionately nicknamed the new Harley, “Pops” after my father-in-law.

——————————————

Check out all my posts in this “31 Days of Tying Up Loose Ends” series here.

And, you can check out all the other 31 Dayers here!