I also felt sad. It was so pitiful seeing all the things that were so important to them left behind. It was uncomfortable going into their house knowing they weren't home and, not only that, but also knowing that they wouldn't ever be back. It was weird how the house still smelled the same even after a year. It was a familiar sweet musty smell that so many of my childhood memories are safely wrapped in.
Even with my girls, my mom, my sister, and my aunt there, the house was empty of normal noise. I kept waiting for the phone to ring in the shrill, heart-stopping volume because it was always turned as loud as it would go so Papa could hear the phone ring even without his hearing aids; not that it would do any good because he wasn't able to hear the person on the other end anyway. I wanted to hear an Indiana game on the TV and to hear Granny yell, "DAVID, turn the damn TV down." My ears were left longing for something familiar.
Things looked different in the house. Nothing was left the way it used to be. I understand that it was out of necessity but it was still tough to take in. There were so many items to go through and get rid of before the house could be sold. In every room folding table lined the walls, holding the precious goodies that had been stored for years. Some items discovered were treasures we had never seen before and others were objects we hoped we would never see again.
I let A1 and A2 each select things they thought they needed. At first this gave me such anxiety as I worried that they would select things that someone else wanted, feelings would get hurt and I would have added stress to an already overly stressful day. As usual, the girls proved me wrong. A1 selected two stuffed animals, a harmonica, and some strawberry shortcake glasses. A2 wanted the box of sea shells. They were both so happy with their finds and really didn't ask for anything else; except lunch.
It was such an emotional day. I walked into one of the bedrooms and found A1 sitting on the floor by herself quietly crying. She hugged me and we sat on the floor together for a few minutes trying to take it all in. After that short emotional release, she seemed ok with being at Granny and Papa's house. She played with her bears and explored the rest of the day. A2 was very inquisitive and asked more questions than she would normally. She really didn't seem too sad. I was able to bottle up my emotions until I saw Granny and Papa's dishes. The plates, bowls, and mugs that they used for their everyday meals, not the paper plates we used at our formal family meals. Seeing the orange flowered Corelle dishes filled my eyes with tears. I contained most of the tears until I went to the garage and saw Papa's familiar warn Redwings in the garage. Seeing those not only sent the flood of tears but also a flood of memories. I can picture the man who seemed so strong and even though he was tired from working all day would walk us to the park to play for hours, not the man who just a year ago was so sick and weak he couldn't even lift his head off the pillow. Those boots looked so lonely sitting there untouched all these months.
It is exhausting spending the day reminiscing and discussing the awesome memories unlocked every time a new item is touched. We laughed a lot and cried some. I got home and cried some after I unpacked my treasures and realized the smell of Granny and Papa's house lingered on the box, as well as, on my shirt. I will probably wear this shirt the rest of today and some of tomorrow so I can have sweet dreams thinking of Granny and Papa and all the crazy adventures we had.
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| Some of the best things came from the 70's: me and these dishes. |
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