Quote:
Originally Posted by MobiusPsyche
I'm glad your sister is there to help, ATAT.
I never went through my mother's house. She lived in Texas and I had already been away for almost six weeks at that point, maybe longer? I was way past overwhelmed and my imagination could not grasp anything I might find that would make the whole enterprise worthwhile.
I did look for old photos but couldn't find any. I took her wedding ring set from the jewelry box, gave all the food in the house to her friend, and the realtor arranged for a company to come in and sell or donate the rest. Oh, I did ship a lamp to her boyfriend's sister. I shipped home 3 afghans my great aunts had made for the family in the 1970s and a few small things. It's been 3.5 years and I can't say I regret my decision.
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Yes, several people have told me to hire someone. But neither my sister nor I want to--it feels to us like a necessary part of the grieving process. I helped my mother go through my grandmother's and grandfather's things after they died, but missed helping her with my father (my sister did, though), and that last still feels like unfinished business.
But yes, it is overwhelming, on top of the suddenness and the rarity of her fatal condition.
There have been funny moments--such as when I opened a box and a dozen amplified telephone handsets fell out. Or when we were dragging stuff out of the attic and kept spotting more further back (the attic has no floor, you scuttle from rafter to rafter and hope you don't fall).