Getting in Touch with the Past

Today, I decided to tackle my hall closet, which hasn't been cleaned out since my mother passed away almost 16 years okay. My sister asked me why today, and I'm not sure why. It's not as if I was keeping the closet as some sort of shrine to my mother, on the contrary. There was just so much crap in the closet that when we were sorting through Mother's stuff 16 years, we both couldn't deal with it!

I just had a feeling that today was the day I should make a start. I had this idea that I could have a winter closet and a summer closet for my clothes. So I opened the closet door and was almost overwhelmed by the amount of crap that is crammed into this closet. I wouldn't be surprised if I found Jimmy Hoffa and Judge Crater in there, the closet is literally crammed from top to ceiling with junk. After awhile going through all the stuff was giving me a headache, and I needed to go lie down for awhile.

I knew that my parents had a lot in common, including being pack rats, but I have to admit that my mother has my father beat with this closet. I pulled out an aluminum tray filled with plastic silverware.

From my sister's wedding.

In 1968.

Yes, 37 year old plastic forks, knives, and spoons. How do I know they were from my sister's wedding? Well, even though I was only 3 at the time, I remember the silverware. Go figure.

Not only does my mother have old plastic silverware, but I also found nylons. Not pantyhose, but actual nylons still in the box. There must be 5 or 6 pairs of nylon stockings. Not to mention, photos, old tax returns, leases, my mother's civil service exam results, my summer school report from when I was 5 saying that I was ready for first grade.

And my mother must have saved every single coat that she wore in the last 30 years of her life! I couldn't believe how many coats there were. I found a beautiful one though that I'm definitely keeping. It's a black boiled wool or lambswool coat with a faux fur collar and cuffs (at least I hope they're faux). I also found another faux fur coat that I don't think I ever saw my mother wear.

But the cutest thing that I found in the closet were two savings account pass books that were opened for my oldest brother way back in the thirties. They each had a dollar each in the account, which must have been alot during the depression. I wish that I found them when my brother was still alive, I think that he would have gotten a kick out them.

I also found baby pictures of my sister, which she was thrilled by.

I also felt that I got to know my mother a little better by going through all this stuff that she had accumulated and kept for some reason (I'm going with the theory that she used this closet for a dumping ground of stuff she didn't know what to do with).

What did I learn about my mother? Well, mostly that she was crazy, which I kind of already knew.

Will I ever finish cleaning the closet? I'm sure that I will eventually when I gather my strength again. And get a shovel!