Remembering my “dusting days, I ran my finger across the partition ..one last time. I walked into the family room, again, half expecting to see mom sitting on the couch snoozing with her knitting on her lap. Just to hear the old familiar sounds, I went into the bathroom open and closed the accordion door, clothes chute, the door where the toilet paper was kept and the medicine cabinet…one last time. I can still picture the day that mom told me grandma had died. I was sitting on the steps to the upstairs and dad was in the bathroom shaving. I remember that I thought dad would be more upset. A feeling of absolute dread came over me as my 8 year old mind interpreted his lack of emotion to mean that he didn’t know yet, and surely I was going to be the one to have to tell him. I can see this in my mind’s eye as if it happened yesterday.
I looked in the “office” remembering the days that Lou and I shared that room and then, in later years, when we finally convinced mom to move her bed down there..2005 as I recall. I remembered how she loved to play solitaire on the computer and how she wouldn’t let her checking account go unless she balanced it to the penny. I am grateful now of all the times that she told me where the financial information was kept and how she wanted things handled. I hope and pray that I have met her expectations.
I looked in the “office” remembering the days that Lou and I shared that room and then, in later years, when we finally convinced mom to move her bed down there..2005 as I recall. I remembered how she loved to play solitaire on the computer and how she wouldn’t let her checking account go unless she balanced it to the penny. I am grateful now of all the times that she told me where the financial information was kept and how she wanted things handled. I hope and pray that I have met her expectations.
1 comment:
In reference to when Grandma died, I do remember seeing Dad cry at her funeral and I don't think I had ever seen him cry before that. When Grandma died Mom was really worn out from taking care of her while she was bedridden . After Grandma died Dr. Proud insisted Mom take a sedative of some kind so she would sleep. She resisted but finally gave in, as I remember.
Did Grandpa die at our house, too? I used to dream that he came back and "walked the halls" upstairs after he died. Those dreams really scared me.
Mom loved her office, didn't she? I think she was a born secretary because she really loved typing--never wanting to convert to word processing.
I think she was always preparing you, Linda, and us for the day she would no longer be here. I still marvel at how organized both our parents were in their finances and files.
Does anyone else remember the "cash box" Mom and Dad stored in the top drawer of the "high boy" dresser? The metal box contained 6 smaller boxes. They used it in the early years for budgeting. Each payday Dad divided up his pay in boxes labeled with categories, such as groceries, car, household, etc. I guess when the money was gone, it was gone. More people should learn to do that today to get out of credit card debt!
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