For posterity I am adding a photo of it here:
This past weekend we went to Sir Steve's house and helped clean out Mom's things. I suspect that it is the first in a series of visits to help go through her things.
It was surreal to go through her jewelry and clothing, my sister, (not so) 'lil one and I had some good laughs and smiles as we were going through her things. Remembering moments with Mom, and there were no fights or arguments over who got what, or who wanted what. It was all very civilized, but also sad.
As Sir Steve and (not so) 'lil one would pull out armfuls of clothes and we would go through them. My sister and I don't need more clothes, so we spent a lot of time telling (not so) 'lil one to try stuff on. By the end she had piles and piles of clothing, actually we all did, and the rest was bagged up to go to charity. Mom had great taste in clothing, and shoes - I like to think I got my taste in fashion from her.
Here are a few things that I noted from the weekend:
- (not so) 'lil one wearing one of Mom's sweater wraps that I had given her for Christmas. Mom wore it all the time. She offered it to me, but I said no that she should keep it and snuggle into it when she misses Mom.
- I kept thinking about when I die, how many piles of clothing that will need to be sorted and donated. I have so many clothes, and shoes, and... and... It's going to take days to go through.
- That Mom can not be defined by a sum of the possessions she had. Over her last years she really had given away most of her stuff, Mom's legacy is really in the people that she left behind.
I bet it was full of mixed emotions. It sounds like it was a nice bonding moment for you all as well.
ReplyDeleteI missed going through most of Mum's things. My brothers, partners and Dad did most of it. We were also doing a major down sizing of the whole house as Dad decided to move to be closer to us after we lost Mum.
Hugs
Roz
I feel like this was a right of passage, my reflections on having too many clothes stems from thinking if I die I don't envy the task of going through my stuff. I miss her everyday, and her things don't make it easier.
DeleteI remember going through my mother's clothes, with the family. We had to check every pocket of every item, as my mom had a habit of hiding "just in case" money in her clothing, in the wardrobe. We found over 1600 UK pounds, in the end. That was divided up between her grand children. Strange experience.
ReplyDeletePrefectdt
We found lipstick in the pockets of her purses/coats. So after that we kept looking through pockets to see what else she had "squirrelled" away ;)
DeleteWhat happened to the " Story of O " dress morningstar had made for her by Il Bolero??? She LOVED that dress....
ReplyDeleteHi Sir WT, I don't actually know. The last reference in her blog (with an image) was from 2009. I haven't ever seen that dress live. Mom lost so much weight in the last 10 years I suspect that the dress no longer fit and she had previously donated it.
DeleteI’m not sure what happened- Mom was not the same after you split up. There are a few things we are still trying to figure out where she put them. But it will all sort itself out.
DeleteWow, that is an awesome dress. Story of O dress, very cool. What a shame you couldn't find it.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Roz