Even before my mom passed away, I began receiving an inheritance from her.
I inherited her: spunk; eclectic decorating skills; you-better-listen-to-me-or-else moods; love for hugs; reluctant forgiveness (but always do eventually); and so much more. In retrospect, I inherited all the warm fuzzy stuff I loved about her.
I also inherited her physical belongings (stuffed bears included – her favorite form of warm and fuzzy). After moving to assisted living when her dementia became too advanced, she gifted me the role of emptying her house. Toughest job ever (so far).
It’s been 7 years since emptying her house and 5 years since she passed away. Someday, I will say, “I’m finally done, and have no more things to sort through, let alone have to decide if I want to keep or not!”
It hasn’t happened yet. Even some items I sorted and decided to keep. I default to, “I enjoy looking at or displaying them, so there, I’m keeping them!”
I’m fond of her blue Fostoria dishes – they look so pretty with gold balls displayed in them at Christmastime. I even kept a few of her delicate doilies. (OMG…I can imagine Joshua from The Minimalists cringing…glassware and doilies are on his list of items not to hang on to!)
Then out of the blue (in a box I forgot to sort through or a drawer in furniture we absorbed in our house), I find something I never knew she had kept. And I scratch my head and wonder why?
And then…I, too, can’t decide if I should keep it or not and end up tossing it back in the box to sort through later! Or maybe, I’ll let my kids find it when I’m gone? Yeah, that’s a fun decision…continue sharing inheritance indecision!
Daily Post Prompt: Inheritance
Nice take on inheritance, love the stamp photo! I really enjoyed this postz,
Aw, thank you, much appreciated! I look forward to reading your drafts-posts you’ve got saved for another day!
I really like this Shelley. When I read the prompt I immediately thought… what is it that I really want to leave for my kids? Like you it in the form of what I want them to remember. I love how you presented it.
Aw, Donna, thank you! I appreciate your feedback and the appreciation of what we want our children to remember. I’m a tad biased in having lost my mother to dementia and the only precious things we had were memories we could still connect with. Your kids are lucky you find sharing of memories important!