Way OT: Detritus (long)
Detritus
Detritus…..no this isn’t a frightening medical condition, but rather it is a word describing debris or discarded material. It is how I uncharitably thought of my mother-in-law’s things. Most of my mother-in-law’s material possessions were put into storage in my garage when she came to live with us 2-1/2 years ago. The rest found there way there when she passed away this past May. The time has now come to settle her estate, to divide up her possessions and what little money she had amongst her heirs. My wife and I have spent much of the last two weeks unpacking her things…and there are a lot of things. There are enough things to start a second-hand store. She collected salt and pepper shakers, from the elegant to the truly tacky. She collected tea cups, hundreds of them, and the name of the person to whom each cup is to go to is scrawled on a piece of tape stuck to the bottom of the cups. She collected
I will admit that I was willing to be helpful about sorting through all of these items because I secretly wanted that crap out of my garage before winter. I looked at most of it as detritus, loads of debris I would have to haul to the landfill at some point, but a funny thing happened as we went about the unpacking process. My mother-in-law was a woman of modest means who raised 10 children and was a widow for 25 years. She made hundreds of quilts, embroidered thousands of things and gave them all to her friends and huge family. She made the best apple pie I have ever eaten. I have met very few people who gave so much of themselves and expected little or nothing in return. You see, what touched my heart deeply as we were going through her things was the realization that almost all of her collections and possessions were things she received from her family and friends as gifts. She treasured all those things because they represented the bond of love she had with each person who gave her something. That realization was truly humbling for me.
What greater legacy is there but to have lived, loved and given of yourself to the point where your death leaves a void that cannot be filled except with the joy of memories others have of you? Perhaps that is why I have come to look at my mother-in-law’s possessions not as detritus taking up space in my garage, but as a treasure trove of memories and momentos from a life well-lived. In a few weeks we will have only a few of her things left around our house and I think they will serve as a reminder to me what power there is in giving to others from a remarkably generous and loving heart.
RP
Thanks so much for sharing this.
"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you CAN do." John Wooden
I'm down 120 pounds - thanks to RNY! Working on the next 25. Then I'll tackle more...
Tuna
