Decluttering - Rambling on...

Just rambling on...   today's post feels a little disorganized to me.  Please forgive me, I am feeling a little dazed by all that's been going on. 

I stay home and I wear a mask when I go out. I seldom leave our apartment except to go to the doctor. I have several underlying conditions that compromise my immune system and make it very difficult for me to recover from any type of illness or infection. You may get a cold but if I catch it I will likely turn it into pneumonia, or worse!

I have been trying to stay home, stay safe, and not be judgmental of other people and their choices. So in trying to stay home, stay safe, and stay away from Covid-19 what happens to me?

Last Thursday, as I was leaving the kitchen after taking pictures for my blog, I fell and hurt myself really badly.  I fell in a twisting motion injuring my left ankle and shin, both of my knees, and my right hip. On the way down I twisted my back, and hit my head on the rocking chair and then bounced it on the the floor when I finally hit the concrete under our fifty year old carpet. 

It wasn't until Friday, when we went to the orthopedist and x-rays were done, that we found out my left ankle is broken. It's badly sprained, probably tore some ligaments, and that pointy little bone on the outside of my ankle is cracked. So in the midst of our decluttering mess I've been hobbling around on an air cast (what we would have called a splint back in the day) and trying not to fall over and hurt myself again...

Then, Tuesday night we had a whale of a storm and coincidentally (?) our computer died. I was hoping it was a bad power adapter. I ordered a new power adapter, plugged it in, and found out that wasn't the problem.

This morning I watched a couple of YouTube videos hoping it might be an easy fix. But, touching the inside of a computer is scary stuff for me so I decided to leave it to The Geek Squad. So, I'm trying to write this post on my telephone and I can only see part of the screen and type with one finger.

It's hard to tell if what I've written before and the paragraphs that follow actually make sense when you read them as a whole.  Well anyway on with the decluttering part of the story...

We've been decluttering the multi-purpose room this week, trying to gain some order amidst the chaos. Dear Ray pulled everything out of the closet for me and got it down to bare bones; that was such a big job and a real blessing.

He took the acrylic painting supplies that had sprouted legs and scattered themselves throughout the entire apartment and got them corralled in one place. That was a wonderful thing to behold! 

Ray found the wire shelving I purchased for my Walmart mini-crates and we set them atop the garage sale bookcases that live in the closet.  I was able to take some of my crafting kits and set them up inside bookcase and I now have empty shelves on which I can arrange items currently sitting in the middle of the floor.  That's what "tomorrow" is for!

On Wednesday and Thursday I sorted through four boxes of old papers.  More client files, documentation for software that's been obsolete for 25 years,  diaries from my misspent youth, cards, letters, poems, etcetera,  so forth, and so on. But, finally,  at the very bottom of the very last box...   I  found what mattered most.  I found my parents personal legal papers.

I found my mom's birth certificate and a letter indicating that dad's birth was never recorded in the state of Missouri.  I found my parents marriage certificate, copies of their social security cards, a copy of my official black microfilm Cook County birth certificate, and the deed to our family grave sites.

I found my original Certificate of Birth from St Mary of Nazareth Hospital, in Chicago, Illinois  - my tiny cute footprint was stamped in black ink on the back - with the cancelled check for the doctor who delivered me ($75). That was a lot of money way back then so I guess they liked me well enough to keep me (at least in the beginning).  ;-)  There was also an envelope that contained a curl of hair from my first real haircut.

I found all kinds of things in yesterday's boxes.  They were hard to go through but they were interesting and brought up some new thoughts about my family and some memories that I'll need some time to work through. 

I found my father's discharge papers from Army of the United States, with his Enlistment and his Separation papers. They listed the different campaigns he served in and the medals he won. He was wounded in the South Pacific and spent some time in the hospital in the Philippine Islands.

My father didn't like to talk about the war unless he was drunk. His drunkenness made me not want to listen; now, that I  am older, I wish I'd listened more and taken the time to understand him better.  It seems like we were always at cross-purposes. I know we loved each other the best we could; but we didn't show it well.

Ray and I don't have any kids. I don't know why I might be saving these bits of paper; but I do feel compelled to save them.

Dear Lord,   Thank you for helping us get through this week of decluttering. Help us to keep going with a positive attitude and a grateful heart.

Talk to you again real soon,

Mary. ;-)