With so much going on in Ferguson, I find myself seizing moments in the midst of the madness that move us forward in our own family goals. Servicing the heating system for the winter and those evening demonstrators led to some forward movement for us-tiny steps, but steps all the same.
Last week we had our heating system and generator serviced for the winter. The heating service man asked me to remove everything from the surfaces of the radiator covers so they could be properly cleaned and drained. It was an awesome job, since every inch of every surface is covered with collectibles. If you compare the top photo and the photo on the right, you can see that Sam had to do some gentle stepping to get to her seat on that radiator cover. Now, it's clear.
Shortly after the service visit, Mom arrived. All of the moved items were still sitting on the living room floor. While she sat in a nearby chair, I suggested that it might be a good idea to put the things that had been on the radiator covers in labeled boxes. She was back and forth. Since most of the items on one of the covers belonged to Dad, I gave Dad a call to see if it was okay with him if we boxed up those items. He asked me what the purpose was? I explained that it seemed to get us two steps closer to doing what we are going to have to do with the house and that putting the stuff back on the cover seemed like going backwards. He agreed, et voila. Box number one was filled and labeled.
During the rest of Mom's visit, we talked about what may or may not need to be done at 411. We circled. We took two steps forward and three steps back. Mom's almost two year lament continued: "we have decisions to make." And so it went. No more boxes on that visit.
During that visit we'd spoken about estate sales and auctions, so that the notion of pulling out the items and collections that were meaningful and special to her had already been discussed prior to the demonstration on Elizabeth this week. It seemed that it might be a good idea to wrap and box some of these special items now in advance of their final decision. I spoke to Mom and Dad who said it was okay to get busy.
It seems that Mom is no closer to making a decision that requires her to accept today's realities. I'm hoping that there is a power moving that we can't see, that might be nudging Mom closer. Until then, we'll seize the moments and the movement along the way.
We may need the intervention of angels!
Comments