Bearing Down
Woman in the Middle | August 15, 2014It seems impossible but it has been almost nine months since we unexpectedly lost Mom in law. Gosh, time flies whether or not you are having fun. We have gotten quite a bit done at her house but there it quite a bit more to do. It is hard enough for the girls and I and is really hard for hubby, as his mom still lived in the house he grew up in. We consulted with the lawyer a couple of weeks ago and he lit a fire under our tail so, with renewed motivation tinged with sadness, we are pressing on.
Digging through her kitchen cupboards is a bit of a time warp, as I am sure it will be when my girls have to go through my cupboards some day. Do you remember back in the day when coffee would come in special edition cans with “decorator prints?” You were supposed to buy enough coffee to have a whole matching set! I found one in a kitchen cupboard. She kept her sugar in it. It is straight out of the 70s with orange, avocado, and harvest gold.
The girls and I went through Grandmama’s costume jewelry. Eldest Daughter picked out a necklace to keep and I asked to look at it. It didn’t look like something Eldest would usually wear so I asked her why she wanted it. It was because she remembered her grandmother wearing that particular necklace a lot. Wow. I didn’t realize that but Eldest did. It was a very sweet moment.
Just when you think you have found all of the family mementoes and such something else pops up. Today I found a box of letters that Hubby’s Dad wrote to his family when he was in the Navy int he 1950s. So cool! I called Hubby right away and he was pretty excited, too. I am looking forward to getting a chance to sit down and read them.
Some of Brother Dear’s stuff is over there, too, so I need to go through that as well. Someone at our church has started a shoe charity. He takes new or gently used shoes and gives them to people who need them. He particularly needs mens shoes as men tend to wear their shoes until they are worn out. The organization is called Steppin’ On Up and it will be getting Brother Dear’s impressive tennis shoe collection. I think I am ready for it to go on to help other people. I will take a photo first, though. (Web site for Steppin’ On Up: http://steppinonup.org/)
So, on til dawn, as they say. Hopefully we will soon be ready for an estate sale. You can think of me this weekend hefting and toting and sorting and tossing. Oh, and sweating. Definitely sweating.
It’s sad and happy all at the same time. Oh yes, and lots of work.
It is sad and happy at the same time. But at ths point, for me anyway, I just feel good that we are making progress. I really want this monkey off of our backs.
I can’t imagine the pain of going through a deceased love ones things.
It is hard but like so many things in life, you just have to do what you have to do.
Hard times but lovely that you and yours are finding mementos and sorting through memories. I know it is a mixed “bag” of smiles and sadness but I can tell you are tackling the chore valiantly.
When my grandma died, my brother sorted through her things and found photos of her brothers and her grandfather when he just arrived in USA from Germany. So, I would say going through loved ones’ things is bittersweet.