Toys in the Attic

One aspect of aging is watching your parents pass away. If your lucky you get to spend some quality time before you lose them for good. If your real lucky and the situation allows you might be able to bring a dying parent into your home. Then you can allow them to spend their last days with family. Ideally, with lots of family visiting often and creating a safe, comfortable atomoshere so that your mom or dad can have a feeling that their family is staying intact.

Of course, that's not always possible. Sometimes we have to depend on facilities designed to care for the elderly. It may be the only alternative available at the time, but knowing that doesn't make it any easier. As you watch someone who raised you, taught you, cooked many meals for you, sitting amongst strangers when you wave goodbye after a too brief of a visit.

Another part of this process is taking care of dismantling what the parents acquired and accumulated over the years. If they owned a home its up to you and any siblings to go through that house to prepare for a sale. And, its quite an adventure sorting through the stuff that your folks stashed away over the years. Its interesting trying to understand their mind set of why they felt the need to store dozens of pairs of shoes in the attic. And, while your in that attic, try to figure out what made them hold on to every gift box from every Christmas you can ever remember.

But, then you come across the good stuff. You find that some of those boxes have pictures and letters from not only your lifetime but theirs as well. A few things to remind you that they went through this same process with their parents. So, you see pictures of your parents when they were children. You see your grandparents as young adults just starting out. And, hopefully, you see pictures that show happy faces caught many years ago having many good times. And, you think about somebody climbing up into your attic someday and you hope they find some of your boxes.