When my mom was cleaning out her house over 23 years ago to sell it I wasnt very sympathetic over her attachments to things. I would go over on weekends to help her and we would go thru things, things for a yard sale, things to donate, things to throw away.....I would usually get upset over how long it was taking her to decide. For instance, we were going thru kitchen cabinets and she spent 20 minutes looking a iron kettle with lid...finally I said mom, at this rate it is going to take us another 2 years...she told me that her mother used to make meals in that kettle and leave them at doorsteps of neighbors during the depression, mom would deliver them...and then they would reappear back to her with an apron, or a wood carving, something in return for the meal...I realized that everything that my mom was going thru was really a reliving of her life....if you are reading this and are under the age of 60....you wont get it....you havent lived long enough, most of you have not had to move your parents into a nursing home, or emptied their home...you havent lived long enough to realize that the hours you spend picking out the right cabinets, or the perfect tile will not be what in the later years matter...it will be the handmade toothbrush holder, or a picture that you got on vacation....so, if your parents are downsizing, and moving to smaller places, or selling a home, give your mom and even your dad a break...those things that you dont understand why they cant just pitch, and why you think you know what needs to be tossed or saved...give them a little time to make their decisions...they are saying goodbye to their past, and realizing that they are getting ready for their end life...while you are beginning your life. As I have been going thru things, its amazing just how hard it is to get rid of objects...but, life goes on, and you realize they are just things...but sometimes things comfort us...so give you parents or grandmparents a break..listen to their stories....cause in 40 years...when you are going thru those boxes and the memories come back, it will be hard to get rid of those plastic champagne flutes that you and your late husband used at a New Years party 4o years ago.....you will think nothing of the tile or the light fixtures...that were so important then...as happy as they are for you....as much as they love you...you just dont have a clue till it happens to you...and then you will remember how your rushed them, and it will make you sad....especially if they are already gone and you cant say Im sorry, I dint get it.....
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 03:27:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015