This was our first and only opportunity to get it sorted. It needed to be done before Christmas. For Mum’s sake.
Nothing had changed for nearly two weeks. No-one had been in and no-one had touched anything. Her sugar bowl was on the table ready for breakfast, along with her grapefruit bowl, her best hat and pin all ready for Church, cards ready for writing. I don’t know what else I’d expected: in the end, everything happened so quickly and since then there’s been so much to do.
I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve cleared Nana’s things this year. Of course, most went as she shifted into sheltered accommodation. But this was her home now; made to feel as much like the Old Place as possible with her pictures and photos, her dresser, tables and chairs. A bewildering number of hats and coats. She always insisted on putting on her best clothes when she went out - even the Family Doctor remembered her as always looking smart and part of such a handsome couple with Grandad. And, of course, her personal things. An ever-decreasing spiral of possessions. At each point she shed a little more. This was all that was left.
We boxed and packed away the Keepsakes and Precious, bagged the Donations and threw the Unsaveables away. Throwing things away was the hardest even the valueless. We’re a family of terrible hoarders and I fully expect to unwrap some of these same things when the next generation passes.
We wheeled out the remnants in relays. A cruel number of trips through the Home. The remaining residents, imprisoned by infirmity, watched us in silence. Their tired eyes betrayed resignation and foreboding: each wondering who’d be next, unceremoniously evicted by time.
“Merry Christmas” wished the staff before asking if we knew of anyone else who might want to stay. I didn’t.
Despite this, I hope you have some wonderful memories of your first Christmas with S.
Posted by: Lynne Spryszak | Friday, 05 January 2007 at 04:51 AM
Thank you for your thoughts. Thankfully we have lots of happy memories both of Nana and our first Christmas with S. c
Posted by: Carlton | Friday, 12 January 2007 at 08:18 PM