First, I want to say thank you to those of you who follow along with these little stories I share about my mom and me. You leave the nicest comments and they really do help encourage me, keep things in perspective and give me comfort.
After last week's unexpected adventures, I put a little distance between my visits to my mom this past week. Me and my family visited her yesterday, on Easter. Interestingly, she never really asked about any Easter plans and seemed content to stay where she was which allowed us more time to spend with our kids. As you may recall, Christmas was another story.
One underlying frustration I have is that in addition to taking care of my mom and kids, I am still working on the condo my mom used to live in. May sound easy...pack it up or throw it out. But this is no ordinary place -- it's a bit overwhelming. I have shared some pictures before of her kitchen and living room. My current focus is working on my mom's bedroom. Things have to be gone through with a fine tooth comb because mixed in with trash and crazy things my mom saved are important papers and things like keys, money, and other sentimental items.
Recently, it took me a couple of hours just to clear and go through my mom's nightstand (see picture below). It's hard to believe this is what the room looks like now without her bed and one of her large dressers in it. You can imagine the clutter before!!? Those piles of bags and things? Those are not my doing. That is how things were. Actually, things were worse. Thankfully, my brother completely emptied her closet several months back and donated all of those clothes. It was probably safe to do that since, as you can see, she could not even get to her closet for years!
I do not talk about any of this with my mom as she (obviously) is not comfortable getting rid of anything!!! When going through these things I have to constantly remind myself that this is a disease and that these are only things. I also have to turn off my mom's voice in my head which always says "wait, I need that ........." as I continue to throw things in the trash.
The sooner I get through all of this "stuff" and lighten the load the better! Wish me luck!!
A quilt rack on the wall gives a glimpse of what things used to look like...
The top of my mom's nightstand...
Her dresser...
I am standing where the bed used to be
"Stuff"
3 comments:
yikes!
Glad you had a good Easter. I can only imagine the frustration you have trying to get the condo packed up. I wish you luck and patience my friend!
Wow, that's going to take some time to go through...I would set a timer and do just a little at a time. Glad you and your family had a good Easter!
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