Dear Highhatsize,

A year and a half ago the woman I had adopted as my mother for the past 20+ years died and her biological daughter and I spent about six weeks going through the stuff she had collected in the house she had moved into 18 years earlier.

We didn't have to get rid of major furniture because the house was staying in the family. But we had to go through her collections of stuff from garage sales, after Christmas sales, crafts, hobbies, paper work and financial records, clothes, jewelry, books, . . .
We took our time, spending about six weekends.

It was hard work but we knew that what we were doing was part of the grieving process and would help with healing later. And yes, the two of us cursed and joked about her collections. We had lots of time to remember stories.


This is all to say, "I hear you."

I hope that your good memories will keep you going.
Mari