Everything went well with our trip and my mom

First I want to thank the posters to my past post on Sad Times. What I was heading into was very emotional and sad. I have to say that it went very well.

Everything from the weather in Ohio on Easter weekend which was 84 both days, to the separating of precious items, to the drive up and back went beautifully. My brother and I got along and both of us sacrificed, and both of us got things that meant a lot to us. We are very fortunate to have one another to share our parents and their wonderful "things" with. We are also fortunate to have had my father live to be 89 and to be able to share our mother now.

This is a very difficult time for my mother. We are cleaning out her home to sell it, and take everything out that matters. I am trying to make it very livable in my house for her and to give her a quality of life she deserves. Everything that I was fortunate to get I unwrapped and asked her the history of the item.

I wrote it all down and will put it on a spreadsheet for my children for the future. I found a barometer that my dad always had on the wall in the office that had his name etched on the back and where he got it. My mother then realized why he was in Boston at that time and told the story.

My brother even dug up some Irises that were our Grandfathers at his home back in the 1920's and I now have them in my yard.

I did have some very sad times like when I was alone in the morning and my husband was not up yet. My brother and family were not there yet so I walked throught the rooms and looked out the windows that I have looked out all my life and just cried. I know soon I will never be able to go "home" again and walk those halls and look out those windows. I am happy for all the memories that I have and can share with my family and my brother.

This is getting long so I will stop here. Thanks for listening and helping me through a difficult situation. We are not done yet but so far so good. Now if I only had a basement!

kimsmom

I am so glad you have this time to go through your family's belongings and get first hand knowledge from your mother, about those items. That is just fantastic.

I was spared the exercise you just went through. My sister and her husband moved my Mom from her house to theirs a few years ago. I haven't been back to Long Island since she's moved. It will always be home even if I never set foot there again.

Try to remember that home is where your heart is (just like that old saying). This time with your mother is invaluable. I wish you lots of happy times to make new memories while she is living with you.

All my best,
£eslie

Leslie, thank you so much for your thoughtful post. You are right, home is where your heart is. I am very lucky to be able to spend time with my mom. She has had a stroke and cannot see very well with Macular degeneration.

I am treasuring these times and glad my girls who are both teenagers now will get the extra time with her alone while I am working. I loved my time alone with my grandmother. Times I will never forget.

kimsmom