Sorting through

So today, (my sister's) Indi, Ali and I met mom at (my step-father) Steve's mother's house. Mom asked us to come and see if there was anything that we might want before it was sold or given away. There was a lot of glassware - Steve's mom had at least 3 or 4 HUGE sets of gorgeous china. I was LATE because when I went to get in my car this morning, I discovered that the battery was dead. Hmph. Kara came in really early this morning, so she needed to get the house key from my car, and ended up leaving the door slightly open, which yes, killed my battery. What a pain in the butt. Since Alex had already left to go to church with the kids, I had to jump it with the electric charger. Big fat pain, and takes at least ten minutes to charge. So I was the LAST to arrive TO PICK the gosh darn China, and they started without me.

It was weird being in the house... seemed so much more empty and dreary. It's so sad. Just going through everything made me feel so down. Like, why do we accumulate all of this stuff, that someday, may or may not mean anything to anyone really. I mean, I liked the things that I brought home with me, but really, it's someone else's stuff - stuff that was important to Steve's mom at some point, but for the most part, was not really important to me. I came to the thought, "What is the point, really?"

I really do want to minimize the clutter, but I can't help but HOARD. I have such a hard time throwing things away! Someday, my kids are going to be going through all of my things, deciding their fates... deciding what goes in the junk pile, the keeper pile...

The things that I accumulated and saved with such love and care will eventually be reduced to a bunch of people handling my stuff.  I don't even want to think about that.

Mom worries about us having to go through all of her things, too. I told her that she should take a notebook, and write about the different things she would like us to have - what has meaning, the stories behind the things she has saved. Certain things she has of Nan's that maybe we wouldn't know about. She loved showing us these pretty diamond, pearl and platinum pins of Steve's moms that she will let each of us have. She will let us choose at Easter when Jen is here.

I brought home a set of sweet custard bowls, a beautiful painting of a boat on a lake, a barometer. I brought home a christening gown that must be a hundred years old - beautifully hand made, and so obviously stitched with love and care, linens and a Staffordshire dog with orange eyes. Later, we'll take a powder blue couch and chair for the playroom in the basement. It'll be good, to let this stuff live on, with us, in our lives. 

I liked looking at the pictures of Steve when he was little. His eyes are the same. I realized that there weren't nearly enough pictures.