Absolutely beautiful, Jenni! The clock’s faster tick such a perfect observation. I’m so glad you have these treasured items. Having recently been through this, I find it so interesting to see which unexpected pieces provide the most comfort. 💕
Oh Liz, first of all, the biggest hug. I have related to so many of what you have shared, too, and you are SO right about the surprises in what brings deep comfort. Sending love, and just thank you, for these words. They mean a lot. 💗
Oh wow Jen! This is so beautifully said and I love how you have woven the quotes in. I have yet to do this with my folks but remember so well when my mother-in-law’s possessions fit into two boxes as we neared her final days and how it seemed so sad. But it also came with the realization that a life could never be reduced to a few trinkets - our memories tell a bigger story and the memories of all those who knew them - an even bigger story. Maybe that is part of the significance of having that “great cloud of witnesses” - they see the whole story and know the full value of a life.
When I come for a visit, the want to hear the stories tied to the trinkets and celebrate the beautiful life of your mom. 🤗🤗
Sue, how can I possibly forget the essay you shared on The Home That Loves podcast about your dear mother-in-law, and how her two boxes of possessions affected you? It was SO beautiful, and inspiring to hear about her deep legacy of love and welcome. You're so right about the memories of those who knew our loved ones telling an even bigger story - I love that! - the ripples of love and memory, just spreading out! As for the "great cloud of witnesses" — I could talk to you for hours about that! And you know I'd love to share our stories in person - either here, or there (or, God willing, both — how amazing would that be?!). Thank you so much for leaving this beautiful comment. 🥰🤗
So nice to find you here, Jenni! This reminds me of my brother and sister going thru our mom’s things. The donate/keep/not sure yet piles. The things we each gravitated to. I wanted her old photos and a few tabkecloths, her favorite winter scarf I still wear round my neck. My brother and sister wanted furniture and we all divvied up her collection of English tea cups. I chose three...one for each of my grabddaughters who know their great grandma. Such beautiful writing here....taking me back to thses moments in time. Thank you fir sharing. I especially like the quote about nostalgia and grace...I still work to find that balance. Well done! 😊🫶
Oh my goodness, Joan - you have no idea what a joy it is to see this comment and to read what you have shared – just thank you! I’ll be honest, I haven’t written for a couple of months because it has been particularly hard over Christmas, and it’s a privilege to hear how you have been through a similar experience with your dear brother and sister. I love that you are wearing your mother scarf – that is wonderful! There are things, I regret not keeping now, of course, but I am trying to be kind to myself about that! 🥺😭🙏🏻Currently in bed with the flu, so a bit bleary-eyed, but your sharing, too, has meant so much this evening – thank you, and so lovely to find you here, too! ❤️🫶🙏🏻
Love the connections here on Substack ...we are all going thru similiar things; sharing is caring, caring gives hope and assurance to each other. I’m glad you’re writing again, you do it so well! Hope you’ll feel better soon.
What a beautiful post about such a hard thing💗 It’s so relatable and brought memories of me sorting through my mother’s things just a few years ago, and I realized I wasn’t ready to discard any big or particularly memorable items. They still sit in my garage 🤭 and I’m now ready to sort through them. Parting with treasures and mementos is so emotional. ❤️ Sending you a hug from afar! Love you.
Oh Natalie, hugs right back and thank you so much for this. I remember so clearly when you were in this place, and I so understand about storing things away that you couldn't quite decide what to do with in the moment. There's no accounting for the overwhelming emotions - I reached a point when going through things with my brother when I was unable to think or make any more decisions. As a result, I've got bags of memories and priceless (to me) treasures tucked under the stairs, in the back of a wardrobe - in boxes ... Sending love and prayers for strength for when you come to the next sorting session. Here with you! ❤️ XXXOO
So beautiful, friend. You and your brother sound like my hubby and his sister after my sweet mother-in-law passed in the summer. We had his mom's big ol' German wall clock shipped from the UK to our home here in Canada (her wish!) and now it's finally on the wall. As much as it is a treasure, I can tell you we will not be having the chime going every 15 minutes. 😬 But I'm glad we have it here, especially for my husband... and her bone china tea set does come out on rare occasions when we're feeling extra fancy. These things really are precious and nostalgic! Sending you much love. 💖
Oh Laura! I love that you shared this story — how amazing that you shipped over your beloved mother-in-law's precious clock, and you did make me smile about the chime! (The chime of your German clock, and the loud, fast tick-tick of our carriage clock - can you imagine them together?!) So beautiful that you are able to honour those memories, and have found a place for something so special and in a way that fits with your life now. I love that so much! Oh, and the bone china tea sets - they are a such a 70s Brit thing of a sort, aren't they? I'm sure ours are very similar (all very Mrs Potts from Beauty and The Beast, no?!). 💗
This is a beautiful piece Jen. So relatable. I sat at my dear Dad's writing desk the other evening, for just a few moments looking for something my dear Mum requested. Of course I couldn't find it, but I discovered all the school plays my Mum had written and my Dad's old diaries, one from 1941 when he was just ten years old. Writing from the past. Which of course we must treasure.
And those special timepieces, what do you do with them? I can so relate to that feeling of panic, can we keep them? Treasured memories all. Sending so much love xxx
That is beyond beautiful, Fiona, and it's always when we're not purposefully looking for something that we find it, isn't it? That you found your beloved dad's diaries is just AMAZING — there's nothing like them, is there? (I came across some of my mum's from the 70s, and there are no words to describe how much they mean to me. It's almost like going back and meeting a dear one again, in as sense, as they were - especially perhaps with my mother, as so much changed with her progressive memory loss.) And yes, panic is the word, too — I'm trying not to regret the things I already wish I didn't hold onto. But where yo keep everything? You're so right. SO much love. ❤️
This line at the beginning stopped me- "Brother and sister, panning for memories." This is exactly what it feels like to go through someone else's "things". My brothers and I did this many years ago and will have to do it again sometime in the future. What a blessing to be able to do it together.
Oh Katie, it means so much to hear that this resonated, as it that's very much how it felt - almost like sitting together with our prospectors' pans, sifting (and holding back sobs!) as we remembered. I can just imagine you going through the same, and I am so grateful to have been able to do so with my brother. It meant so much, and became a precious (if hard) brother and sister memory, in and of itself. ❤️
No words, Christine, for how much this means. I know how very much you relate and I have been so moved and comforted by what you have shared about your dear mother in Travelling with the Father, and it's a great comfort to know that we're not alone in these shared experiences, which feel sacred, somehow, don't they? I could talk for hours with you about the sifting and sorting, remembering and holding dear whilst moving forward! I think we both came to How To Inhabit Time at such a helpful time (!), didn't we? Going back to find those quotes — so much highlighter! — was a reminder to re-read, in the light of all that has happened in the last year. Tapping this reply now, I just heard the words "Those who walk in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:2) from morning prayer in progress — such a comfort, and a reminder that Advent is almost upon us again! I had to share it. Big ❤️
Absolutely beautiful, Jenni! The clock’s faster tick such a perfect observation. I’m so glad you have these treasured items. Having recently been through this, I find it so interesting to see which unexpected pieces provide the most comfort. 💕
Oh Liz, first of all, the biggest hug. I have related to so many of what you have shared, too, and you are SO right about the surprises in what brings deep comfort. Sending love, and just thank you, for these words. They mean a lot. 💗
Oh wow Jen! This is so beautifully said and I love how you have woven the quotes in. I have yet to do this with my folks but remember so well when my mother-in-law’s possessions fit into two boxes as we neared her final days and how it seemed so sad. But it also came with the realization that a life could never be reduced to a few trinkets - our memories tell a bigger story and the memories of all those who knew them - an even bigger story. Maybe that is part of the significance of having that “great cloud of witnesses” - they see the whole story and know the full value of a life.
When I come for a visit, the want to hear the stories tied to the trinkets and celebrate the beautiful life of your mom. 🤗🤗
Sue, how can I possibly forget the essay you shared on The Home That Loves podcast about your dear mother-in-law, and how her two boxes of possessions affected you? It was SO beautiful, and inspiring to hear about her deep legacy of love and welcome. You're so right about the memories of those who knew our loved ones telling an even bigger story - I love that! - the ripples of love and memory, just spreading out! As for the "great cloud of witnesses" — I could talk to you for hours about that! And you know I'd love to share our stories in person - either here, or there (or, God willing, both — how amazing would that be?!). Thank you so much for leaving this beautiful comment. 🥰🤗
So nice to find you here, Jenni! This reminds me of my brother and sister going thru our mom’s things. The donate/keep/not sure yet piles. The things we each gravitated to. I wanted her old photos and a few tabkecloths, her favorite winter scarf I still wear round my neck. My brother and sister wanted furniture and we all divvied up her collection of English tea cups. I chose three...one for each of my grabddaughters who know their great grandma. Such beautiful writing here....taking me back to thses moments in time. Thank you fir sharing. I especially like the quote about nostalgia and grace...I still work to find that balance. Well done! 😊🫶
Oh my goodness, Joan - you have no idea what a joy it is to see this comment and to read what you have shared – just thank you! I’ll be honest, I haven’t written for a couple of months because it has been particularly hard over Christmas, and it’s a privilege to hear how you have been through a similar experience with your dear brother and sister. I love that you are wearing your mother scarf – that is wonderful! There are things, I regret not keeping now, of course, but I am trying to be kind to myself about that! 🥺😭🙏🏻Currently in bed with the flu, so a bit bleary-eyed, but your sharing, too, has meant so much this evening – thank you, and so lovely to find you here, too! ❤️🫶🙏🏻
Love the connections here on Substack ...we are all going thru similiar things; sharing is caring, caring gives hope and assurance to each other. I’m glad you’re writing again, you do it so well! Hope you’ll feel better soon.
What a beautiful post about such a hard thing💗 It’s so relatable and brought memories of me sorting through my mother’s things just a few years ago, and I realized I wasn’t ready to discard any big or particularly memorable items. They still sit in my garage 🤭 and I’m now ready to sort through them. Parting with treasures and mementos is so emotional. ❤️ Sending you a hug from afar! Love you.
Oh Natalie, hugs right back and thank you so much for this. I remember so clearly when you were in this place, and I so understand about storing things away that you couldn't quite decide what to do with in the moment. There's no accounting for the overwhelming emotions - I reached a point when going through things with my brother when I was unable to think or make any more decisions. As a result, I've got bags of memories and priceless (to me) treasures tucked under the stairs, in the back of a wardrobe - in boxes ... Sending love and prayers for strength for when you come to the next sorting session. Here with you! ❤️ XXXOO
So beautiful, friend. You and your brother sound like my hubby and his sister after my sweet mother-in-law passed in the summer. We had his mom's big ol' German wall clock shipped from the UK to our home here in Canada (her wish!) and now it's finally on the wall. As much as it is a treasure, I can tell you we will not be having the chime going every 15 minutes. 😬 But I'm glad we have it here, especially for my husband... and her bone china tea set does come out on rare occasions when we're feeling extra fancy. These things really are precious and nostalgic! Sending you much love. 💖
Oh Laura! I love that you shared this story — how amazing that you shipped over your beloved mother-in-law's precious clock, and you did make me smile about the chime! (The chime of your German clock, and the loud, fast tick-tick of our carriage clock - can you imagine them together?!) So beautiful that you are able to honour those memories, and have found a place for something so special and in a way that fits with your life now. I love that so much! Oh, and the bone china tea sets - they are a such a 70s Brit thing of a sort, aren't they? I'm sure ours are very similar (all very Mrs Potts from Beauty and The Beast, no?!). 💗
This is a beautiful piece Jen. So relatable. I sat at my dear Dad's writing desk the other evening, for just a few moments looking for something my dear Mum requested. Of course I couldn't find it, but I discovered all the school plays my Mum had written and my Dad's old diaries, one from 1941 when he was just ten years old. Writing from the past. Which of course we must treasure.
And those special timepieces, what do you do with them? I can so relate to that feeling of panic, can we keep them? Treasured memories all. Sending so much love xxx
That is beyond beautiful, Fiona, and it's always when we're not purposefully looking for something that we find it, isn't it? That you found your beloved dad's diaries is just AMAZING — there's nothing like them, is there? (I came across some of my mum's from the 70s, and there are no words to describe how much they mean to me. It's almost like going back and meeting a dear one again, in as sense, as they were - especially perhaps with my mother, as so much changed with her progressive memory loss.) And yes, panic is the word, too — I'm trying not to regret the things I already wish I didn't hold onto. But where yo keep everything? You're so right. SO much love. ❤️
This line at the beginning stopped me- "Brother and sister, panning for memories." This is exactly what it feels like to go through someone else's "things". My brothers and I did this many years ago and will have to do it again sometime in the future. What a blessing to be able to do it together.
Oh Katie, it means so much to hear that this resonated, as it that's very much how it felt - almost like sitting together with our prospectors' pans, sifting (and holding back sobs!) as we remembered. I can just imagine you going through the same, and I am so grateful to have been able to do so with my brother. It meant so much, and became a precious (if hard) brother and sister memory, in and of itself. ❤️
No words, Christine, for how much this means. I know how very much you relate and I have been so moved and comforted by what you have shared about your dear mother in Travelling with the Father, and it's a great comfort to know that we're not alone in these shared experiences, which feel sacred, somehow, don't they? I could talk for hours with you about the sifting and sorting, remembering and holding dear whilst moving forward! I think we both came to How To Inhabit Time at such a helpful time (!), didn't we? Going back to find those quotes — so much highlighter! — was a reminder to re-read, in the light of all that has happened in the last year. Tapping this reply now, I just heard the words "Those who walk in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:2) from morning prayer in progress — such a comfort, and a reminder that Advent is almost upon us again! I had to share it. Big ❤️