Family worked together to empty house

That’s done. Mom’s house is officially empty.
I have spent the last month since Mom died trying to clean out her house. She was a Depression baby who was taught to never, ever throw anything away. It was a lesson she learned well.
We found sacks of cleaned and sorted lids, takeout containers and advertisements. We found boxes of clothing that had been donated to her that she didn’t have a prayer of ever wearing again, if she had ever worn them in the first place.
The closets were packed from floor to ceiling. All of her possessions had to be gone through. Each box had to be opened. Every envelope she had saved for three decades or more had to be opened and the contents read.
My brothers, sisters-in-law and I spent all of our spare time at this insurmountable task. I was charged with sorting the small stuff while they took care of the larger items.
Last week I was determined to get it over with before the end of the month and spent most of my time there. Most evenings my brother, David, and his wife, Apryl, stopped by to cart a few items home and take me to dinner. Some mornings my other brother, Michael, and his wife, Diane, stopped to give encouragement and take home whatever I pressed into their hands. Most of the rest of the day was spent sorting and cleaning.
One morning Michael and Diane were heading to their car when I heard something. I went out to join them and there were two copper colored chickens strutting through the yard. They seemed friendly enough. Michael said he thought they belonged down the street. I didn’t realize chickens were allowed in town.
Later, I was going through a dusty box when I heard a tap, tap, tap on the metal screen door. I thought maybe it was a kid asking about some of the stuff we had set out by the curb. Nope. It was one of the chickens knocking on the door.
Saturday was a beautiful day and the end was in sight. My nephew, Jadyn, stopped by and carried an old rocking chair out to the curb. Mom had put extra cushions on the chair at one time. When David, Apryl, Jadyn and I went to lunch we saw three little girls who had been “shopping” at our curb sale where everything was free. The girl in front had a cushion on her back like a turtle while the other two trailed behind lugging their own treasures.
Sunday was panic day for me. I wanted it all to be finished. I had everything out of the house except the furniture. Well, almost everything. Michael was to take the china cabinet. I did leave Mom’s gallstone on the top shelf of the cabinet for him. He didn’t think it was funny and tossed it into the trash. i guess he isn’t the sentimental type.
The garage took all day to empty. We had eliminated a few things here and there but there were also major items left. We gave the chest-type freezer to a neighbor. He was tickled that it worked and that there wasn’t a body inside. The car engine Michael had stored there didn’t want to leave. It took both brothers a good long time to force it onto Michael’s trailer.
The sun set and we were still at it. I panicked when I realized I had forgotten to write a column and had no way to get one done before deadline. I remembered the boss’s offer to take time off after Mom’s death and prayed it would work out.
Finally, we locked the door for the last time and said goodbye to the house.
I followed David home and we unpacked his car before going back for the roses he had unearthed. He tried to blind me when he told me to scoot the rootball in a little farther even though it was too dark to see the rose cane reaching for my face. We returned to his house with several feet of roses trailing from the back of his car. Then he stabbed me with a thorn as we unloaded them.
I crashed at his place for the night and left at first light Monday morning. I called the landlord and told her the house was all hers. I mailed her the keys. It’s done.