Sunday, June 27, 2010

Crunch TIme

We are heavy in to crunch mode... Mr Safety-Man and I are traveling this Friday up to Maine to round out and finish the organizing and sorting all of his Mom's things. We packed, boxed, cleaned, sorted, more boxes, last minute boxes, and even more TOTES... until our storage was almost full - during our last few minutes at his mom's house when we were there the first week in June.

It was a hard goodbye to the house - coming back home. I sobbed as we pulled away. I even took a few Hens-and-Chicks (no sillies... not the real ones... they're a plant!!). And snuffed, snorted, and sniffed the Peonies so HARD that a petal went up my nose. Yes, my friends, I kid you not - it truly went up my nostril and made me sneeze, and laugh, and giggle too. I wanted to try and remember the scent - after all they are truly one of my favorite smelling flowers. Yet as we pulled away I felt a huge loss again. I felt like it was the final step in the closing of a book... as we passed the house again (after the LAST "and I mean it Kymmie the last trip to storage - no more trips") - we tooted the horn like we always used to - and I sobbed even a little harder. But - this is the last chapter - this flight up this weekend and the L.O.N.G. drive from Maine to Florida in only THREE days... or maybe this is the Epilogue... you decide.

I just know it starts a new beginning, a bit more difficult as we try to adjust to not having Chris' Mom to send photos to, to call just to say - "hey we haven't gotten to talk to you lately and missed you", to visit, or to just be together. But time does heal, and the wounds will not be so raw soon enough...

Mr Safety-Man and I have decided with alllllllll the books coming from his Mom's library... that we needed to change a room we NEVER (and when I say NEVER... I mean NEVER) use from a "living" (I call it the non-living) room to a library. It really was just a catch-all and playground for the girls. That started me on a plan for "built-in" bookshelves all around the room. Well... we are SO running out of time before the books are getting here (one week now). AND our garage was filled with his other parental unit's C.R.A.... well you get that picture - junk. Soooooo - we've been in total crunch mode cleaning out the garage to getting OUR stuff cleaned up, organized, sorted, packed etc for a BIG. HUGE. yard sale! YAY US! I have been so good about just gettting rid of things. It was an inspiration going through San's stuff... I just needed to do this. We've been holding on to too many things.

But with all this sorting... no time to build - built-in's. OH NO... now what?!

Well Mr Safety-Man came up with a most FANTABULOUS revelation. Our home is VERY much ecclectic with a large assortment of family antiques (I am saying ecclectic because it sounds so much better than saying hodge podge or mix-matched or even GASP - OLD). SOoooooo why not get some barrister cabinets/antique cabinets to make the library and go along with what we already have? It's not light colored as I had hoped... but... I LOVED THE IDEA!

We searched all around and went to several shops (even a new wood shop that I could "shabby chic" something... only it was just as expensive if not more for unfinished wood!?!?!? Seriously dudes? Would MUCH rather have antiques for close to the same price). {I digress - as usual}.

Then Mr Safety-Man found a place that only dealt with Barrister cabinets that would match the ones I have of my grandma's... and I am in love. WAIT till you see the photos... this library will look good I think... I hope... I've been working late nights and hard hours getting them clean and assembled in my new library... I've been taking photos of the phases and will post them soon! But right now I need to get back to the grind...

After all... it is crunch time... that clock is ticking!!!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

It's been TOO long...

WOW! Time has gone by. It has been a whirlwind. A true whirlwindy type of month. I meant to journal the week spent in Maine with Chris sans enfants, helping take care of San. And then... well life interrupted. My beautiful mother-in-law,
passed away at 8:56pm on a very special...beautiful day... her birthday, May 26th, 2010. She turned 72yrs old. Yes... her actual birthday. I truly feel it was a type of re-birth. She is with God now. No longer in need of the ailing, broken brain and body - she is born again anew to be with God in heaven and all those we love and miss that have gone before her. We will see her again. But we ache for the hurt we feel now. The emptiness. The sorrow and pain.

When there is less pain, and rawness... I will write about the experience. It is important to remember. It is important my girls remember their Gramma San. It is important for us to hold her close to our hearts and never forget the closeness we felt before her death.

We miss you Gramma San. I miss you Sandra...
I love you too.