It has been a week since Hurricane Sandy hit this area. The effects were devastating. I was so fortunate in that I did not even lose power and besides the fact that schools were closed all of last week, my life went back to normal pretty quickly. I wish I could say the same for everyone.
I would have loved to have been able to get out there and volunteer my time and services to help out my fellow New Yorkers, but its not so easy to up and go when you have a child to take care of. So, I helped out in a way that I could, donations.
It is quite chilly this time of the year in NY, and there are so many people who lost so much of their belongings and are without heat... and I had just the things, winter jackets. I had donated most of my husband's clothes last year when I went through his belongings. For some reason though, I never touched his jackets. This was the perfect opportunity to let those items go. It made it so much easier to do so knowing that they would be going to people that are truly in need of them. I have to admit though that it did choke me up and this past Saturday was more of a somber day for me.
As time moves on, I have started to find items that I saved last year that I feel I can now let go of. In this past year, I have donated a tremendous amount of items from clothing to an antique dinning room set. As hard as it is to say goodbye to these pieces that were once a part of my life, it is so much easier to donate them than to sell them. Last summer, after going through my storage site, I did attempt to have a yard sale. I did sell many items, but its so hard to sell items that hold memories for dollars and cents. It's like a punch to the gut.
I have kept some clothing of my husband's, like a few sweaters that immediately make me able to see him so clearly in, ties (for my son someday), and a few other odds 'n ends that I also thought my son might like to see or have someday as well. The last things that I have, that I don't plan on keeping are his suits. I know that he loved them and they are just hard to get rid of. I am not planning on keeping these for my son because who knows if he could ever wear them or if he would even want to. It's hard, but I just can't keep everything. So, I know that the suits will go too. And, I think once things start to settle down here and people are finding that they are having their basic needs met, I may donate the suits as well. Just the thought though does put tears into my eyes because not only do they represent something that my husband loved, but they are also the last pieces that I have to donate.
In a way, being able to donate his things, makes it feel like he is still here, giving. Letting those suits go is going to be a difficult thing to do.
*As a little side note, since I mentioned Hurricane Sandy in this post, I felt a bit of giving from my husband in the midst of this storm myself. Not knowing what to expect, I wanted to be prepared, so I had water stored, I had lots of food, I filled my car with gas... the only thing I was missing was extra batteries. I was in need of two extra for the flashlight and 2 more for a radio. I decided to check out the storage room to check out a box that we used to store those types of items in. I kid you not, there were 4 batteries in that box. Two that I could use for the flashlight and two for the radio, exactly what I needed. Fortunately I didn't need them, but as I was all alone to weather the storm, I didn't feel all that alone.
I would have loved to have been able to get out there and volunteer my time and services to help out my fellow New Yorkers, but its not so easy to up and go when you have a child to take care of. So, I helped out in a way that I could, donations.
It is quite chilly this time of the year in NY, and there are so many people who lost so much of their belongings and are without heat... and I had just the things, winter jackets. I had donated most of my husband's clothes last year when I went through his belongings. For some reason though, I never touched his jackets. This was the perfect opportunity to let those items go. It made it so much easier to do so knowing that they would be going to people that are truly in need of them. I have to admit though that it did choke me up and this past Saturday was more of a somber day for me.
As time moves on, I have started to find items that I saved last year that I feel I can now let go of. In this past year, I have donated a tremendous amount of items from clothing to an antique dinning room set. As hard as it is to say goodbye to these pieces that were once a part of my life, it is so much easier to donate them than to sell them. Last summer, after going through my storage site, I did attempt to have a yard sale. I did sell many items, but its so hard to sell items that hold memories for dollars and cents. It's like a punch to the gut.
I have kept some clothing of my husband's, like a few sweaters that immediately make me able to see him so clearly in, ties (for my son someday), and a few other odds 'n ends that I also thought my son might like to see or have someday as well. The last things that I have, that I don't plan on keeping are his suits. I know that he loved them and they are just hard to get rid of. I am not planning on keeping these for my son because who knows if he could ever wear them or if he would even want to. It's hard, but I just can't keep everything. So, I know that the suits will go too. And, I think once things start to settle down here and people are finding that they are having their basic needs met, I may donate the suits as well. Just the thought though does put tears into my eyes because not only do they represent something that my husband loved, but they are also the last pieces that I have to donate.
In a way, being able to donate his things, makes it feel like he is still here, giving. Letting those suits go is going to be a difficult thing to do.
*As a little side note, since I mentioned Hurricane Sandy in this post, I felt a bit of giving from my husband in the midst of this storm myself. Not knowing what to expect, I wanted to be prepared, so I had water stored, I had lots of food, I filled my car with gas... the only thing I was missing was extra batteries. I was in need of two extra for the flashlight and 2 more for a radio. I decided to check out the storage room to check out a box that we used to store those types of items in. I kid you not, there were 4 batteries in that box. Two that I could use for the flashlight and two for the radio, exactly what I needed. Fortunately I didn't need them, but as I was all alone to weather the storm, I didn't feel all that alone.
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