I have missed my blogging for a few days and that has not been fun. We played one of our old familiar roles on Monday and Tuesday and hauled furniture to a son’s home….a beautiful solid honey-maple bedroom set that has a lot of family history and much affection attached to it. Now it is installed in our grand daughter’s bedroom.
But on to the subject…If Closets Could Talk….and I must say that I am glad they cannot talk. The closets in this house would be hollering, "Pack Rats live here!!" or "Help! I am stuffed and cannot move!" or "Tell these people to get rid of some of their "stuff"!!! I recently went into our nice big cedar closet…it does not seem too big anymore because there are a pile of foam mattress pads blocking the door’s opening and it is really hard to get in there. I have to climb over the foam mattress pads to get at some of the Christmas decorations every December but do I do anything about the pile of pads? No! I retired 3 years ago and it has been on my list: "clean out cedar closet". But I haven’t done it yet—too much other truly interesting stuff to do and I love being outside.What about winter time, you might ask….well, I have not done it then either because it’s cold in there in the winter and….well, I just haven’t done it. I have to admit to being sort of a pack rat but I am not nearly as bad as my husband!! He cannot part with his things. We harbored a tweed topcoat(from 1957) that he grew out of years ago til I noticed a heavy coating of fine closet dust on the shoulders of the coat. We do not have it anymore but I remember it was a battle to let it go and I have probably suppressed the things we said to each other at the time. Of course I still have my 1958 green wool sheath dress (it is so beautiful) that I bought at Herbsts’ Department Store in old downtown Fargo. I got it for my friend Helen’s wedding and I cannot part with it either…it is in the cedar closet so moths won’t get at the green wool. I couldn’t even get my thigh into it now but in 1958 I was slim and shapely and it fit my form like a glove. I also have my slipper satin wedding dress in the cedar closet. I tried to get into once and got caught in it and had to have my oldest son cut the zipper open with a razor blade to extract me from the voluminous gown… there must have been 5-6 yards of satin in the skirt alone, which was worn with a hoop at that time. I got claustrophic with my hands raised above my head, completely engulfed in endless satin. I repaired the zipper and it was worn at a bridal show in the school I used to teach at….but I was not the model! I won’t even mention the hysteria and helpless incapacitating laughter of the son who had to get me out of the dress. It is too humiliating for me to remember it. There are 3 very nice mens’ suits in the closet also….each one was worn at a son’s wedding…1985, 1989 and 1991. Of course the father of the groom has not been able to get into any of the 3 for many years either but that doesn’t mean we have to get rid of them….they have precious memories attached. In another closet, are two dresses I wore to sons’ weddings. One is a sheer pale yellow one and the other is a sheer lovely aqua one and I wish I could wear them still….they are so lovely also…they cannot be gotten rid of, naturally. At the middle son’s wedding I wore a borrowed sheer peach colored dress, courtesty of my best friend Avis who had worn it at her daughter’s wedding. Something borrowed, something blue—-well this time it was the groom’s mother’s dress. I even have my mother’s rose-colored dress that she wore to my sister’s wedding in 1968. I can’t remember why I have it but I cannot throw it away. I have actually cleaned out and parted with closet stuff since I retired but there are certain things that my children will have to find and deal with at sometime future when both of us are gone from this life. I should put a codicil in our will that says they MUST hang these old garments on their walls to remember how slim and young their parents were at one time. Until then, I must keep my to-do list that says, "clean cedar closet". One of these days I just might do it….but I won’t get rid of the best stuff….ever!
