Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Losing the lake house

I just spent the past weekend with my family, dismantling my grandfather's estate. Too surreal. It feels wrong somehow to paw through someone else's life this way. My poor mom and aunt, having to do all this...they have been working for a month now. Full time.

Two dumpsters later, two attics and a boathouse later, there is still so much stuff to be dealt with, it's incredible! I cannot stress HOW. MUCH. STUFF:

OMG my grandparents were definitely the product of their times (the depression). In their defense, I suppose it's easy to fill up a house you've lived in for 90 years, without a "move" to make you ditch the ballast...

The moral of the story? DON'T LEAVE IT ALL FOR YOUR KIDS TO DEAL WITH! Let go of things for their sake, before you have a boathouse full of cast-off lumber, metal pipe-fittings, receipts, bottle caps, stamps, craft supplies, garden implements, doors, windows, cast off furniture, and decades of squirrel nests and dung that are gonna cause grief to your loved-ones. (There wasn't even a boat in the boathouse!)

While it was fun to see the antiques buried away,

many of them are to be sold. But overall there is a sadness permeating everything--the lake house has been the seat of my family for 89 years. And it is now for sale. I'm too sad for words, as are my brothers. (Of course, it's not the same without nana and goompa, but I think we all thought it would go on forever.)

And so, the grief continues, as all grief does. It's an ongoing process, I know.

I need to recuperate, though I only helped out physically for one sad weekend. I have strep throat, too, with that perfect timing that only illness can make. Looking forward to Memorial Day Weekend.

p.s. I started a shrug last week on my giant needles that I will show you once I get back to it....

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Aim! Sorry to hear you have had a loved one pass away and are having to deal with all that stuff. It is sad that you have to lose a home that has been a big part of your family for nearly a century!

Thanks for the comment on my blog. I hope you do pick up your tatting shuttle at tat away!

I'd love to know what you make when you do tat something up. :)

Anita said...

I'm sorry for your loss! It's hard to sift through what has been in the family for decades. And to be sick on top of that is the worst! Hope you are feeling better soon and that the sorting gets easier.

Amy @ Living Locurto said...

I feel for you right now. That is such a tough thing to be going through and on top of it being sick! Hang in there and know that I'm thinking of you:-)

Carrie K said...

I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather. I can imagine what the lake house looked like after 90
years of collecting, it's scary what I can accumulate in a single year.

Aim said...

Thank you all, I appreciate your good thoughts!

Unknown said...

A lot of love, good times and memories. 90 years of stuff! Wow. Hope you feel better soon.

Unknown said...

Sorry to hear of your loss. Today is Mother's Day and this is my first year without my mom. It is tough. I found your site looking at your crocheting. Seems we have a similiar interest. I love to crochet. My mom enjoyed shawls that I would make her with beads in them. Have to find someone to make things for now. You do beautiful work. Like the white with pink trim baby sweater. It looks so vintage.