Sunday, January 31, 2010

Mama T

I opened her boxes today. They've been sitting in the corner of the study since October 2008, untouched, taped shut, contents unknown to the extent that I did not know what to expect among the things I knew would be in there. It would have been more fitting to do it on her birthday, or mother's day, or some special day... But the sun is shining, and I was cleaning the kitchen, and rearranging the study to turn it into a semi-studio, and the boxes were just...sitting there, waiting oh so patiently. So I got my scissors and cut the tape. I actually did it. And instead of crying, like I expected, I find myself smiling. The boxes smell like her. I stuck my head inside them and just breathed in, taking her in, remembering her, loving her.

I only unpacked a few things. I don't know what to do with all the crocheted sweaters and tablecloths yet. Books and games no longer reside within the cardboard confinements, however. Things I took out: the Great Masters' Drawings book I bought Max for his birthday, Monopoly, Clue (oh, how many times we played!), Scrabble, Set, Uno, and the "Woman's Home Companion Cookbook." And Brutus. I brought him downstairs, to be put with her hutch and other things, as he always was.

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