Is Another Man's Treasure. I found a trove of treasure yesterday. It definitely would be considered trash by another's standards. But to me, it was treasure.
My mother-in-law died April 30, 2012. My husband, the youngest of four children, was the executor of her estate. You really wouldn't call it an estate. She'd been living in an Nursing Home for the last 4 years, so all of her belongings has just been sitting and collecting dust in her house. We always hoped she'd be able to move back home. It just didn't work out that way. A series of emotional setbacks sort of drained her. The death of her favorite son 3 years ago was devastating, and the following year her only daughter died unexpectedly. That too was a blow that was hard for MIL to bounce back from.
So yesterday, I went with my husband and sorted through her things. Her house has been sold, and the new owners are renovating it. This was a home that had been owned by the family since the early50's. Lots of joy, sorrow, love, tears, and memories are still associated with the belongings that once lived in that old house.
My mother-in-law was a very special lady. She grew up in the depression with a house full of brothers and sisters. Only 1 more sister left of that entire household now. She kept everything. Christmas cards were neatly pasted into scrapbooks beginning in the late 50's. Way before scrap booking had even been heard of. She kept tiny arm cast when one of her children broke his arm. She kept favorite toys of each child, created beautiful baby books, and decorated for every holiday. She loved stuffed animals, and glittery things. She was remarkable in that she truly kept a sense of how it was to been a young teen. She was able to talk to her grandchildren and greatgrandchildren as though she understood exactly what they were feeling. She kept important (to her) newspapers, and recipes.
So my husband and I brought home many totes full of treasures. Not worth anything to anyone else. But definitely treasures to us.
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