Friday 15 April 2016

Old clothes!

Yesterday ended my period of bereavement. Finally I got round to emptying my husbands wardrobe. It was time to do it but not without some tears.
When my first husband died I took all his stuff down to the local Oxfam shop and had the pleasure of seeing a well dressed old boy wearing his cashmere overcoat during a very cold winter!
This will not happen here.
During the summer the church hall is used as a nearly new shop and visitors flock to it in great numbers...
The hardest part of yesterday was packing up Davids much loved cruise clothes, especially the dinner jacket and silk waistcoats...but it was time.
They are now stored in the barn until the moment comes to send them on!
Moving into this house over ten years ago was fraught in that he and I were running the parish. I have never been so busy and all our stuff was dumped into place in a very arbitrary way!
Only recently have I questioned why a chair was still where it was placed so long ago!
His clothes are waiting for redistribution but his shoes are not!
At the back of his wardrobe I found beautiful hand made shoes complete with stretchers to keep them in shape.
I never ever saw him wear them. I haven't thrown them out. They are now stored at the back of my wardrobe....and I do know how stupid this is but I simply can not chuck them into the rubbish bin of life...so maybe the period of bereavement isn't quite over....
We shall see! I twice took back some of the first Davids clothes before making an almost total gesture but some of them came to live in Cornwall with me and finally found a good home with one of the men who worked on my first house in Portscatho!
Parting with much loved things treasured by the men who wore them can never be easy...but the feeling of relief when I now look at the empty wardrobe makes up for most of it...
I'm not sure how long it will stay empty though.....ahem!



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2 comments:

Ray Barnes said...

That feeling of relief is one I remember well. John's clothes filled 6 large black sacks and I got the local Salvation Army people to come and collect them.
I put a note in with them since John was 6'4" tall and his shoes were size 12
Now my clothes occupy both wardrobes and I can't imagine how I ever managed with so little space.

Babs said...

Removing Rons clothes was not as traumatic as I thought it would be . He was never a fashion icon. However his dressing gown hangs on the bedroom door next to mine where it always hung. And I have his 'man' drawer for his very personal possessions, his glasses and pens. As I said to my grandaughter ' if grandad returns there isn't room for his clothes in the wardrobes as I have somehow commandeered the space !