Moving forward....W

So. Back to the coast to pick up things from Mom's house. 

Her house was basically empty. Except for the small piles of detritus that a few of us had yet to remove. We stayed with Sister from Virginia in her rental. 

Mom's flip flops stood sentinel by her back door. 

Not one of us wanted to be the one to remove her last pair of shoes from the house.

Eventually Sister Mimi took one and I took the other and we threw them in the garbage.

And. It was difficult. Letting go.

 We took the WWII letters back to the house with us. They had been in one attic or another for 75 years. They were brittle and filled with roach poop. We spread towels over the table to keep from getting that all over. Then we began to read Mom's letters. 

They were so sweet. We laughed. And cried. 

Dad's letters were just as sweet. I was most interested in the August 1945 letters. That was when Dad was destined for Okinawa. He made it as far as Oahu, HI before the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. His letters felt historical. They are. He even had a couple of things redacted by the censors. I was totally immersed in reading them. We didn't nearly read them all. It will takes weeks to read them. 

These letters were written by young parents. I didn't come along for eleven more years. They were newly wed and so in love. They were still passionate. 

I knew middle aged Mom and Dad. Settled Mom and Dad. Wise Mom and Dad. 

These two people were young and unsure of the future.

When we were loaded and ready to go I was torn. I wanted to take all the letters with me and lose myself in them looking for Mom and Dad. It was hard leaving them behind. 

We did leave. 

This week I am trying to get through the plastic tubs of memorabilia that I brought home. I've thrown some things away. I am giving others away. I am repurposing some things. 

And. I am moving forward. With good things behind me.

And good things ahead.

Shalom.