A quote: “Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.” ~~ Democritus

I’ll start with a story …

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You always laughed that the only way to get the closets cleaned out was to move.

No. There’s another. I stand in the closet, looking at your side, clothes you couldn’t bear to give away … the silk blouse from our honeymoon in France, one maternity jumper you wore with each of our sons …

Clothes sketched a timeline of our life. Drawers full of scaves and sweaters marking the seasons. Even the silly Christmas sweaters for the annual family portrait. And shoes? Silver slingbacks for New Year’s Eve parties, sensible heels, ballet flats, sandals. Oh yes, once the kids were off to college, there was that cottage we rented on the beach one summer, you painted your toenails deep red and wore a flowered wrap dress with nothing underneath and we were young again.

All these things, fabric ghosts full of memory.

But you’re gone now, wearing the gold-threaded dress you wore at our 50th anniversary party. When they dressed you, they had to gather it in you had lost so much weight, looking so small and fragile against the white satin.

They’re just clothes now. I’m packing up donations, thinking about when someone delights at the “vintage” denim dress, it will just be a dress and not the memory of our first date.

That lives and will die with me.

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Now, it’s your turn.
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. featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license