Both Sides of the Fence
A Tosa resident since 1991, Christine walks the dog, raises kids, cooks but avoids housework, writes and reads, and works too much. A Quaker and
The Aging Maven, she has been known to stand on both sides of the political and philosophic fence at the same time, which is very uncomfortable when you think about it. She writes about pretty much whatever stops in to visit her busy mind at the moment. One reader described her as "incredibly opinionated but not judgmental." That sounds like a good thing to strive for!
Out of the closet
By Christine McLaughlin
Monday, Sep 24 2007, 01:08 PM
I spent Sunday going through my mother’s closets, helping her decide what goes and what stays. She’s always been a clothes horse, and I say that in the nicest possible way. So this was a big job.
We filled five large garbage bags to be given to some charity or other that moves clothes from one person to another. I sometimes wonder if my Goodwill-shopping daughters will end up buying Mom’s clothes back some day without knowing it.
Even so, 20 pair of pants and two entire closets full of blouses remain. Do not ask me about the shoes.
We made most of our inroads in the skirts, seldom worn. A woman with beautiful legs most of her life notices when her ankles swell and doesn’t want to show it.
Of course it wasn’t easy. Some things just have too much history to part with. There’s the sweater with the leopard collar, just as hot now as it was in the late 50s when the collar (and matching hat) were legal.
And there’s the good Pendleton trenchcoat with zip-out lining. “Daddy and I always wore these to church,” she said. I don’t know if it’s in style or not, but that coat went home with me.
The other “keep it” factor is Depression era training. “Oh, that’s a nice suit. I wonder if (insert grandma generation name here) might want it,” Mom said more than once.
“Ma. She’s probably trying to clean out her closets too. You’ll never get the job done if you keep passing your old stuff back and forth like that.” Most of the clothing recycled this way doesn’t get worn but gets put into someone else's closet, too good to toss.
There's no net gain of space until a middle-aged daughter shows up and is invited to be bossy.
At 86, Mom lives in senior apartments in Oshkosh. Although the place is not as posh as some of the Tosa senior communities now coming under the “where can we find tax revenue” search light, it’s the same sort of place.
The ladies there aren’t rich, but they all have enough to go shopping. And they do, bless them.
Never too old for one more great cut white silk blouse, especially now that there's room in the closet.
