Irene Emily

I've had many good intentions for so long, but life hands you curves that you have to go along with.  I have so many ideas spinning in my head, like many of you, and was well on my way of creating a space for me to papercraft.  Well, the tiny space came, the drawer units were in place, etc., etc......and then it happened, my mom of 90 years entered the last stage of her life.  She passed away this past January.....anticipated, but not expected.  Irene still lived in her seven room rancher.  She was tough as nails, and stubborn as they come.  She was very proud that she managed to stay in her home after my dad died in 1971.  She traveled, was active in many organizations, and retired as a classroom teaching assistant at the age of 80.  During the last 50 years Mom collected European Christmas decorations, Czechoslovakian straw dolls, Italian embroidered linens, china, pottery, cut crystal, milk glass, wrapping paper, along with twist ties, straight pins, broken jewelry, plastic lids, paper bags, empty gift boxes, sugar packets, etc., etc.!  I'm sure you know where I'm going.....  Now, as an only child, I have opted to clean out her house all by myself and not hire a cleaning crew.  My cousin's son, Anthony, is my brawn, and carts out all of the trash for me.  I had a dumpster emptied three times for a total of over 11,000 pounds of trash.  Now that the dumpster is gone, there is a relentless pile of bags and boxes on Tuesdays and Fridays for pick-up.  I have exchanged my creative time for some cathartic sorting. 

I'd like to share just a couple of things you may find interesting about my mom.  She was a League of Her Own baseball player in the late 30's and early 40's.  Playing for the Landisville Go-Getters as left fielder, she was a reknown player.....not just word of mouth stories, but in the newspaper clippings that I found in an old scrapbook.  She was awarded a gold baseball (about the size of a gumball) for outstanding play.  At a championship game that was being played at Bader Field in Atlantic City, NJ, my mom went for the fly ball that if caught, would have won her team the NJ title.  The ball came, mom ran for it, hit the cement wall straight on.  Next thing she knew she was coming to with a roaring crowd behind, and the baseball in her glove.  It was her crowning moment and I have the newspaper story to prove it!!  It's very exciting!  I also found the wax candles we made with ice cubes in a half-gallon ice cream carton back in the 50's, sequins she used to make me a gown for my Barbie, and the felt slippers that I made her when I was a Brownie in scouts.  Mom was a crafter, early on, and is responsible for my love of crafting.  We had different likes in the crafting world, but this creative outlet was a life saver in many aspects of my life throughout the years.  A lot of the stuff I'm finding is trash, but the memories each piece stirs up do stay with you.  So I tossed the aged candle, the moth-eaten slippers and so many other memorable trinkets.

I will go back today and repeat the ritual that has been a part of my life for the past six months.  I will continue to feel melancholy, emotionally stressed and sorrowful, but I am more uplifted by the good memories and the omg's that are brought to mind each day as I relive and discover. 

I know life has to move on, so I am finally going to do that.