“Dad, what the hell?” Debbie asked as she came from the master bedroom into the living room where her father was sitting on the sofa reading a book.
“What is it, Debbie?” Ted asked, looking up from his book.
“You haven’t gotten rid of any of Mom’s stuff,” Debbie said. “All of her clothes are still in the closet and even her sneakers and dumbbell hand weights are on the carpet next to her treadmill. I thought you were going to donate all that stuff to Goodwill.”
“Yes, I still plan to,” Ted said.
“Dad, Mom died six months ago,” Debbie said. “But even her toothbrush, hair bushes, and cosmetics are still in the bathroom. What’s going on with you? What are you waiting for?”
“It’s hard, Debbie,” Ted said. “We were together for nearly 25 years and I miss her terribly.”
“I know, Dad,” Debbie said, “but you need to move on with your life. I’ll call Bob and he and I can stop by this weekend, pack up her clothing, and take it to Goodwill for you.”
All of it?” Ted asked.
“Well, we won’t take her jewelry to Goodwill,” Debbie said, “and if there are a few other mementos of hers that you want to keep, tag them. But seriously, Dad, you gotta let go of the rest of this. It’s time.”
Written for Roger Shipp’s Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner. Photo credit: MorgueFile April2020.
This, That, and the Other 
OY… we all grieve in our own time.
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Really gotta watch out with widows/widowers, I think. My mom was getting rid of my dad’s stuff within a week. Even art work he had created. Then she got rid of the money he left her.
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So sad. So hard. Grief is not easy for people.
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No, it’s not.
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It is hard to let go sometimes.
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Yes it is.
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👍
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Everyone grieves differently and has a different time frame. Personally, I think Debbie was a little insensitive towards her Dad. Six months is not that long for some people experiencing such a loss. Just my opinion Fandango. Nothing against your post.
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You’re right, we all need whatever time we need to grieve. But I think Debbie was just trying to get her father to accept his wife’s death and to start living his own life again. Her intentions were good.
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I would wait a year before wondering about the healthiness of minor issues like having clothes and a toothbrush around.
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Six months could be a good time to gently ask, “Dad? Do you mind if I throw away this toothbrush?”
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I can see that too.
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When my sister died, my brother-in-law waited awhile before dealing with her things. Then he called me and asked me if I would like to try on some of her clothes – I was the closest in size to her of all our siblings. I did do this and still have several things that belonged to her. I thought it would make my sister’s family sad to see me wearing her clothes, but my niece told me she liked it – she would remember her mom wearing it and be glad that someone in the family was still wearing and appreciating it. It was like having a little piece of her mom still here with us.
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So hard to let go! 🙂
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Yep!
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I still haven’t touched the pictures and plaques my Dad had up on the walls… it’s been a year and a half now. I just feel like it is taking him away from me all over again.
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