Memories

We spent yesterday in Trowbridge helping sort and clear Paul's parents house. We need to sell it to pay his mum's nursing home fees, cos that's how the system works these days - I don't agree with it but I won't rant about it here. Paul, Val and Graham had spent most of friday going through the stuff with sentimental value so we were doing the sorting through the rest, creating piles for the tip, or the charity shop, or for house clearance. The guys did a lot of runs to the tip.........and there are piles and piles of stuff for the charity shops - all Paul's dad's clothes, and stuff too good to throw but we won't get any money for (vases and plates, tupperware, bedding etc). The kids got some stuff for their uni lives (patio furniture/irons and so on) and PJ made a few finds on rowing stuff - a special link he and his grandpa had. I think we all found something that held a special memory for each of us.

Bagging up Paul's dads clothes was hard - Sarah and I seized a moment when Val was busy elsewhere and just did it...........

And packing up some of Paul's mum's stuff - cos there's a limit to what its worth taking to the nursing home, especially as she seems to have limited awareness of it all - in a conversation she will say something that makes sense and stuff that doesn't - we really aren't sure how aware she is most of the time - but it seems to make it easier for her to be in the home, whilst harder for us, as we've lost her before she's gone.

So many losses - I was ok until we got in the car to leave, and it hit me that I may not ever go to the house again. I have known and loved the family that lived there for 30 years, 2/3rds of my life, I have so many happy memories, and its the end of an era.

Actually we've decided we'll all go back, when its cleared, and say goodbye together, pray round the house, and then weep!

But we need it to be done and sorted, particularly Val and Ivor.............