Time to Clean Out

My mom passed on Feb 2^nd of this year. I can’t believe it’s been more than three months. She passed quietly but her passing did not go unnoticed. She had a boatload of friends and family who still mourn her passing.

After her passing there were a host of things we had to do, starting with the memorial service. (The burial will come later this year or next year. She donated her remains to the UMASS Medical School in Worcester,MA. Once the school is through with her remains, they will cremate her and return her ashes to us.)

Mom’s memorial service in February coincided with the big snow storm. As a result, the service was not as well attended as she deserved. We had people in from out of town so rescheduling wasn’t really an option. But we worked through it. Them we worked through all the financial and insurance paperwork/issues. Presently, we are in the cleanup/cleanout phase.

Since 2001, Mom lived with my family. She had a very large bedroom with her own full bathroom. One would not have thought she could have accumulated that much stuff … one would have thought wrong.

Courtesy Google Images

Mom was a big fan of carousels. When the merry-go-round at Heritage State Park in Holyoke, MA reopened in 1993, Mom was there to take a spin. Everyone knew that Mom would appreciate gifts relating to carousels … and she got a lot of them. By the mid 2000s, she cried “Uncle” and asked that folks stop giving her carousels as she had no more space.

So what do you get a woman in her late 80’s that doesn’t need anything? VCR tapes … CDs … DVDs … cloths … all that and more.

Thus far, we’ve worked our way through her bathroom and most of her bedroom. There are so many unopened items.

VCR packs – the 30^th anniversary edition of My Fair Lady, for example.  In case you are wondering, in 2014 we will be celebrating the 50^th anniversary of My Fair Lady. There were sweaters, sweatshirts, blouses and pants with the tags still on them, baubles still in the original packaging, colognes, body washes and lotions unopened.

Apparently, you can give the woman who has everything, something … you just cannot make her use it.

But you know what? That was Mom. She’d smile, say thank you and you went away happy.

Anyone else have a cleanup tale they’d like to share?