Today was busy and so at the end of it, the S.O. and I went out for a well deserved Mexican dinner.
Today was the day I had to tackle all the stuff that had come from my long term storage-which had been in boxes for 8 and 1/2 years. There were valuable things and a lot of not so valuable things in those boxes. I had been putting off opening them for a while.
With good reason-there are a lot of memories in those boxes: letters, (Including love letters from my ex-written during a different time, pre-bills, pre- children, pre -becoming a nasty enlarged woman), pictures of my family, the ex’s family, from school, and from various ships traveling to various parts around the globe. There were also pictures of my ex’s father and her mother when they were young-and he was in the Navy. ( He passed away in 1982 at 52-a scary thing to contemplate now). Those I will have to box up and send to the ex. Even I did not have the heart to throw them out-it would not have been right. I’m suprised she left them behind. She must have forgot them when she trashed the house and moved out . This was after we had separated-I had to come back from Japan and get the house cleaned up and vacated-thus the need to store this stuff.
My tools were so so-the table saw will need some work and I am wondering what will happen when I plug the motor in. Same with my routers, miter saw and drill press.
However the really long and time consuming part was the sorting of the book and picture boxes. Deciding what to keep and what to get rid of-with an eye towards “slimming down” for an eventual return to Asia. Which might very well have to be at my own expense.
In that stack I came across a letter from my mother. Written to me right after I had departed for Rota Spain and my 1st class Midshipman cruise. It was a simple one pager-asking me about the trip. Telling me how her plans had changed and she would be going to see my sister after all. Complaining about how “every time I plan something, the whole thing goes a different way”. She meant the trip-but it sure seems an analogy for my life right now.
Her closing was the most bittersweet part to read here, this year-as I had not heard these words since 1978. How the letter survived several moves over a period of 30 years is beyond me. Simple good-byes really, but still heart rending to me today:
“Well since I have a lot of errands to do must get on horse and gallop. Hope your trip turned out okay. We are thinking of you every day.
We love you-Mother.“
Time has no divisions to mark its passage, there is never a thunder-storm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols.-Thomas Mann