I check out Keith Drury’s writing every once in a while. Keith is a prof at Indiana Wesleyan University. He is known throughout the Free Methodist denomination – both as a writer and a controversialist!
For those who work with Seniors, here is a good article on the sins of seniors. Otherwise, just to see what he writes on check out www.drurywriting.com/keith.
Have fun!
Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Great phrase – must have been put out there by an OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) who loved to rearrange things, categorize them, and put things in an “order”.
I guess I would be guilty of that!! Four days at the estate house and I loved it! Picking things up and moving them so they were symmetric. Finding little pieces of tissues that had been tucked away and gently whisking them into a garbage can. Making a clutter look like a spacious dwelling by just moving a few things to a new location.
Now that I’m over 50 I’m beginning to recognize that this is not just an old age thing for me. 25 years ago I took a library science degree, in part because libraries are about putting things in place so they are accessible.
But perhaps the memory that sticks out comes from my grade eight year. We were living in Toronto and headed down to the Royal Winter Fair. My father and mother, both with farm roots, loved to see the animals and look at the new farm machinery. I was caught up with the shiny “toys” and collected as many brochures as possible.
Now, what did I do when I got home? I put them all into my own classification system (which I still maintain was better than Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress). With tabs in place and brochures settled into their home, I would extract a brochure and think about what it would be like to be on a farm with the latest and greatest machinery. Then I started sending for more of the brochures by using the addresses off the brochures.
That all worked until the day my parents got a call from a salesman who wanted to talk to “Ron Baker” about some farm machinery.
That was the end. At that age, I just liked to put things in order and dream of what technology can do – I wasn’t going to buy a farm, run a dairy or seed a field. So I stopped sending for brochures and a few months later the brochures found the garbage can.
But not the mentality that things should be put neat and tidy so that you can find what you need when you need it. Avoid the frustration of the futile search. Join the ranks of those who have “a place for everything and everything in it’s place.”
Now, where are my glasses – I probably should read this before I post it!!
Yesterday I continued in working through a mental inventory of my father’s household items. As executor of his estate I need to know what is there.
By the end of the day I could lie in bed and picture each room and it’s contents. At some point I’ll come back and put things down on paper. For the moment I have an idea so that I can prepare for any repair, renovation or upgrades that need to be done.
By 11:30 I wandered up to the care home where my mother was about to have lunch. Visiting with her is enjoyable, but her short term memory is short. I’m not sure she will remember the visit, but I will.
When I arrived home at 4:30 I unpacked, had supper and am now going to relax for the evening. So ends my personal retreat – which has been refreshing! Thank you for your prayers as I have ventured out!
Today I continued with inventorying my father’s house. You begin to realize that we all have our ways of doing things. Dad was a writer and a record keeper. You can trace all sorts of his activities over the years. A very special legacy.
I suppose I was hit most as I was cleaning pictures off the fridge. There were our grandchildren – and they won’t see dad any more. Neither will I! I broke down and cried for a bit. I suppose that is a sign of a life well lived, that they will be missed!
Tomorrow? I’ve straightened up most of the house. I know where things are and what will need to be done in coming months as I work as executor of the estate. So, now I can return to those things that struck me most and meditate a little on them.
To all a good night!