End of an Era

Picture of the Day for 3/12/2011. Well, it's an end of an era. My dad keeps falling (not good) and the staff of the assisted facility where he lives suggested we move him to different wing where he can receive more supervision and hands-on care. An excellent suggestion although he now has just a small room which necessitated significant downsizing. We spent the day packing up his apartment and divvying up the contents between us three girls. Selfishly, I'm kind of glad we were able to tackle this task now as opposed to when my father passes away. It was nice to get this done without having to deal with the additional stress of planning a funeral.



Although my mother passed away nearly two years ago, we had kept all of her clothes and possessions in the apartment. Packing up her clothes today and donating them to charity was probably the most bittersweet part of the experience. I also felt kind of bad about a Christmas decoration that she had loved (it looks rather ratty here in this picture, but she kept it well-maintained when she was alive). I have fond memories of her hanging this tree on the fireplace screen each year, but not fond enough to want to keep it. We ended up tossing it in the trash. I hope her attention was diverted in heaven while this crime was being committed against her Christmas decoration. Sorry mother!