Taming My Mother's Clutter

God must have a sense of humor! I find it ironic that I - who have such a hard time taming clutter in my own life - must once again tame the clutter in my mother's! She is scheduled to move into a nursing home when a place becomes available. So she has to clear out her tiny assisted-living apartment, something she is entirely incapable of doing on her own.

Over the years, I have offered to take away things she no longer needs, but her answer has always been the same: Don't touch anything!

Now, as I go through her things, I discover that she has kept every weekly activity brochure from the past three and a half years.

(I think of the piles of old magazines I have stored in my basement... Will I be the same?! AM I ALREADY the same?!)

As I load shopping bags of photographs and sentimental souvenirs into my car, to sort through at home, I smile at the irony of it all: One hoarder having to sort through the accumulated possessions of another! (On a positive note, I do find it easier to get rid of her stuff than my own!)