Wednesday, December 10, 2008

THANK YOU



Thank you each and every one of you for your kind words, thoughts, phone calls etc during this time. I am so grateful that Mary ( I never even knew she was called Mary Ann by friends) seemed to have only suffered terribly for the last day and the Doctors thought she may have had a stroke of some sort. I saw her late Tuesday afternoon and I prayed she would die overnight and fortunately my wish was granted. Even though I am almost 58 I have never actually seen a person so soon before death and it was so sad and shocking to me. But enough about sadness; Mary would want us to buck up and go shopping.

Do you have the Marshalls ads where they declare you to be Shamelessly Shoportunistic? Well, those ads were meant to describe Mary. I always knew she liked to shop, but I was never fully aware of the consequences until we started on the house. Closets are jammed full and the more you pull out of them the fuller they become...it is like something from Fantasia. Each room has rolling racks for clothes and there is 24 feet of hanging space in the basement. In the last year or so she has just been keeping clothes folded on the spare beds and the couch in the Parlor. You know those sweatshirts that "mature women" ( OK, Old Lady Sweatshirts!!) wear, the one with Peter Pan collars and embroidered birds/flowers on the front? We have given away more than 100 of them, over 100 purses, over 40 coats and jackets and the killer ( no pun intended) so far we have donated 34 new curling irons. All in all I have bagged over 100 bags of clothes that have been donated to Good Will/Salvation Army/ St Vincent DePaul and Planet Aid. There is a bedroom 2/3 full of yarn...floor to ceiling...that is my next mission. The goal is to have the house cleaned out by February 1 so we can paint, rip out carpet and generally spiff the place up for a March 1 Market Debut. Keep your fingers crossed, the clothes were just the easiest place to start. So this is how we grieve. I brought a couple of purses home and a couple coats and I have already put them in a bag to donate; I am scared to bring in more stuff and have it accumulate. On the up side I now have 8 King Tom Turkey Plates...look them up on Google, I am honestly too tired and lazy to provide you with the link. I also have a set of Mountain Woodland by Nasco...very autumnal. Did I need more dishes..ummm..no, but she would have wanted me to have them because I am the one that has cooked for holidays since I became part of the family 17 years ago.

Gotta run, but thanks again for everything and now I really have to think seriously about Christmas.

Janet

Edited to add: I found enough energy to get you this picture. I have 8 plates, the platter and the gravy boat (cracked and badly repaired).
This means I now have 3 kinds of turkey plates and can feed 24 people as long as they don't mind sitting "Native American " style on the floor.



8 comments:

  1. Janet~I've been thinking of you & your family all week. Hope all went well with the services & that even though you are cleaning out the house, you get to enjoy the Christmas season a bit. So sorry you all have had to deal with so much in the past few months. Isn't a nice thought to think that your wonderful MIL & FIL are together again? Hugs to you, Chris

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  2. All those clothes are going to be blessings to many people. It's a hard job to go through all her things. Take care of yourself.
    Hugs, Susan

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  3. my heart is with you! I am sorry this is so hard before christmas

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  4. Hi Janet,
    You have been in my thoughts this past week. I found, when cleaning out my mom's condo, that my sisters and I were able smile over wonderful memories as we handled each piece. Your turkey plates are beautiful and will provide you with wonderful memories every time you use them...
    Hugs,
    Penny

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  5. I'm with Tootsie--my heart's with you, too. Those are the best kind of plates, the ones with meaning.

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  6. Looking on the bright side of life, there are lots of fans of the 'old lady sweatshirts' with lace collars no less who are very excited about your family sharing.

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  7. You have been in our tjoughts and prayers Janet...

    This is a hard thing to do so take it slowly. We went through this 3 years ago. We lost Bill's Mom in August in the very day Bill had his retirement ceremony. Then we lost his dad just 4 months later just before Christmas. It was a chore going through it all and deciding what to keep or to give away. We gave away most of it and it is hard so do be easy on yourselves.

    I liked Tutti Chic's comment that your FIL and MIL are together now...spending Christmas with one another. It is a nice thought...

    I have been where you were, praying that a loved one would go. When I know my Dad had no hope of recovery I said that very prayer. I knew he would be devastated to know he was in a nursing home and I could see what it was doing to Mom...it is all so hard.

    I am so sorry Janet and wish i could do more for you...

    Know I care and send hugs and love.

    The dishes are beautiful by the way!

    Love,
    Sue

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  8. All I can say is wow! I'm now thankful that my dear MIL (90) lives in assistive living and that we got rid of all that unnecessary stuff several years ago. My own mum was not a hoarder by any means and, after she died, it only took a few hours to bag and donate her personal things. You have your work cut out for you - but your sense of humor will see you through it Janet.

    Blessings for Christmas.

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Thanks,
Janet