Closet

Tonight Grandma and I tackled a project that has been on her "to do" list for months. We cleaned out her and grandpa's closet. I just couldn't understand why she was so concerned with going through all her things, but I can understand now. She really is doing a service to her kids so they don't have to do it later while they are grieving. We touched every article of clothing in that closet and she decided if she should keep it our donate it. It was actually pretty fun, but it is so different going through a persons things with them and doing it after they pass... She told me what events she wore each outfit to (graduation, wedding, funeral etc) or who purchased it for her. She has always dressed very stylish and receives lots of compliments on the way she looks. Up until recently she ironed all of her clothes and always looks sharp. She said when she was working she bought all her clothes at K-mart, but people always told her how wonderful she looked all the time (I wish I had some fashion sense!).  When we finished with her things it was time to take grandpa's clothes off the hangers and bag them up. It was harder than I expected and it has been over a year... I am saving the clothes to make a quilt (someday).

I am kind of a nut when it comes to closets and like to use all the same hangers and color coordinate the clothes... grandma just loved it. There is just something about a cleaned fresh closet that makes you feel great!

Here is the end result-

Just sitting and talking with me while I cleaned and organized took every ounce of energy she had (my mom told me later her ankles really swelled up from sitting there for those couple hours). I could see her getting tired and told her to go relax that I could handle it, but she said, "No I am not going to leave you to do all my work and not even keep you company" I just love her and all the lessons she continues to teach me. I know being in this situation (not being able to do for herself and asking for help) is very hard for her. She has always been an independent, strong women without an ounce of laziness in her entire body.

My job is boring (yes it is true) and one day in this past year I was telling her how I have plenty of work to do, but it is just boring and not very challenging anymore. She told me that when she worked and had that problem she would make games for herself, like how much she could get done in an hour etc. She kinda does that with all 'chores'. Like tonight, like I said, it was fun. She turned a chore of cleaning out a closet into a stroll down memory lane and quality time.