In my blog I plan to chat about nature, crafts, baking, gardening, beekeeping, family, and whatever else seems appropriate at the time. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

The "Memories" Thing...

OK first of all, let me just tell you here and now, I know everyone is very busy and trying to find time to create memories is hard to do. I'm one of the worst offenders so no need to explain to me why you just can't do it. I know when you get off of work at 5:00 pm, and you cook dinner, clean up the mess, etc. well there isn't much time left. And forget about the energy it takes to plan something....And Lord knows when your house is a mess people talk so you have to take time to clean. And with us building a house on top of all that, I'm flat out worn out, and my house IS a mess! I haven't done near the stuff I used to do and I miss it terribly.
But.....
In my last post I said I'd explain why creating memories has been on my mind lately. Remember this couple that got married, I think in May?

Well he told us a couple of weeks ago he's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. We wondered what was going on, because they had an auction of all of the contents in his house. We've known this man since we moved into our home 17 1/2 years ago. He was one of the first people we met, and he introduced himself as our Mayor! He is the Mayor of our neighborhood. He goes around and introduces himself to everyone when they move in, and we ask him important questions that one would ask a Mayor of a neighborhood. Like, where has "so and so" been for the last three weeks, and who is living over there with "X", and what's going on with those peeps in the yellow house?
And he has a heart of gold. He is the one that found Dixie in the park and gave him to me. Even the boys I watched know this man.
He used to take our airedale (who has since passed) bye -bye in his truck. When Abby would hear him she would go crazy barking until he'd get her. She would go to Phil's house, get a treat, and come right back to our house. He is just a wonderful person.



I went to his auction for a little while, but it made me sad. Sometimes I miss the "good old days" so much my heart just aches.



And the day before his auction...on Friday....I spent most of the day finishing up with my Mother-in-Law's condo. I turned over the key to the new owners that same day! I am glad to be finished with it. It's been a lot of work.



Mom and Dad helped me get all of the stuff out of the attic a couple of weeks ago.

(of course, this pic is before I swept the garage)



And my cousin Vickie helped me a week ago. We loaded up a bunch of stuff that we couldn't throw out. Old slides taken on vacations and boxes of pictures. We had started out in the kitchen, but I called an auction house and they came over and said they'd box it up and take it.



They did.

This whole process has taken about three or four months. A little at a time, because my MIL wants to go through every single thing. And why wouldn't she...it's her stuff. But she is 89, in a wheel chair, and has to take a bus from her Assisted Living place to get to her condo. The bus is almost always late picking her up. Sometimes as much as an hour. She wears out after a couple of hours. So it's been a long haul. (this would be a good business for someone to start-btw-for people who don't have family to help them go through their stuff)


The hardest part cleaning out her condo was the time it took. There we go, with the time thing again. It wasn't the memories for me because I really don't have many memories in her condo. She usually came to our house.



But this peeps....this is what made me think......


About the same time I found out about my neighbor, I found this box in the attic stuff. It was my Shug's Father's wallet.

My Shug's Dad passed away in 1978. In his wallet was my Shug's senior picture, insurance cards, a calendar, a page out of a magazine to order a carpentry book, and a note written by him, on what dates to change his vacation from and to so he could take off of work.

A vacation he never took.

He went to work that day in 1978. He passed out at work, and they took him to the hospital. The hospital did a bunch of tests. He woke up during one night with indigestion so the nurse gave him some 7-up. He felt better, fell asleep, and never woke up. He died during the night of a massive heart attack. He had no idea that this day that he went to work would be his last.



Memories peeps.....that's all there is....really.



Cindy Bee

9 comments:

  1. How right you are. I'm sorry for you MIL. I'm sorry for the Mayor. What a great man he must be. Friends, family and memories...it's all we really need. A good lesson to slow down and enjoy it all while we have it.

    I hope you can find some quiet moments in your busy life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jill,

    I do find quiet time every morning. My Shug has to get up at 5:00 a.m. and he leaves at 5:30. I get up with him. When he leaves I either update my blog, crochet, practice guitar...whatever I'm in the mood to do for an hour or so.

    Cindy Bee

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's so very true and the thing is - you can't go back and make those memories after the fact. My Mum died very suddenly just over 10 years ago and there is so much I didn't get to say to her or do with her (she'd have been so happy I started sewing again - knitting and crocheting too - and she'd have loved to have visited some of the places we've lived in round the world).

    So glad you've finished clearing out that condo! I bet it's a huge relief. And really sorry to hear about the mayor - Alzheimers is such a cruel disease for everyone involved.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Fiona,

    I'm sorry about your Mom.
    You are right about Alzheimer's. It is a cruel disease. I'm hoping he has been misdiagnosed. He was in the Vietnam war and was in contact with a lot of bad chemicals. I'm hoping further testing shows something else.
    Yes, I feel VERY relieved about the condo.

    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well what a depressing post on a Monday morning! Lucky for me I am going to a White Sox/New York Yankee baseball game tonight with Christy! That will be a good memory :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. So very true Cindy; you can't go back to make memories.

    I'm glad you are done with the condo, it must be a huge load off your mind (as well as, hopefully, freeing up a bit of time). I'll keep my fingers crossed that they find Mr. Mayor doesn't have Alzheimer's.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cindy, This post made me cry. I miss things too,like the old days , when I had my parents. Even my parents friends...things change and some changes hurt too much. The story of your F-i-l was sad. xoxo, Susie

    ReplyDelete
  8. OK I didn't post this to make you all sad and cry. I posted it because I want us all to remember to make memories, enjoy life, it goes fast. I'll try to think of something fun to post, and post it instead.

    Cindy Bee

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cindy, I think you are just reminding us to pay attention, make time for important relationships...I get it.

    Thanks for the reminder....that's why altho I don't have kids, I scrapbook so they can put me in a chair at 'the home' and I can look at the freaking awesome life I had/have!

    Julie

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to leave a comment on my blog. I enjoy reading them. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Cindy