We moved the last of the furniture and “stuff” out of the house over the weekend, and into the garage. Amazing how much mom could squeeze into a tiny cottage! I finally found a recipient of a majority of the furniture—Habitat for Humanity. I think my mom would be pleased that her furniture will find a new home with people who are trying to get themselves together.
I did keep a couple things and will try my hand at furniture painting to update them. If it doesn’t work out then I’ll likely donate them, too, as none of the furniture was really my style.
It was surreal, though, to take a moment in the completely empty house. The last few weeks I’ve felt the transition in a strange way. I’ve had “guilt dreams”—dreams of my mom coming back and not having a place to stay. I’ve felt history slowly slipping away in the items I’m donating and removing. I can’t imagine having to sell the house and just walking away! But in some ways the house has reached the tipping point of being mom’s house and just being “a” house. Hopefully soon it will feel more like “my” house. I’m also sure that moving personal items back into the space will breathe some history and life into it.
Kitchen cabinets arrived today. Hopefully the carpet will be pulled up this week so I can assess it–see if I can keep it or if I press forward with the bamboo flooring I’d picked out.
Pictures to come later.