I have been trying to figure out lately how I have ended up the one in the family where all the family items have rolled. I have paintings and pictures and more including responsibilities from my immediate family (my Mom) and my extended family (my Great Aunt). In addition, through each of them I have stories and memories that they shared about their lives and the lives of their families. I have become the family keeper.
What is interesting about this job is that I am not a keeper, or should I say I do not like to hang on to things I do not need and have always kept my personal "keeping" to a low limit. Now I am holding on to a painting from my Aunt Ellie and a painting from my Great Great Aunt Grace. I have a silver spoon collection from my Grandmother and a quilt that my Great Grandmother made. Add to these pictures of family from generations ago and the ashes of my Great Aunt Nina and my Mom and my Mom's cat Mandy and my Mom's dog Cassie and you can see why I am wondering how I ended up at the bottom of the family hill where everything seems to be rolling.
My biggest concern is that I do not want to be weighted down by these items or these responsibilities. I am still in the middle of negotiations about my Mom's estate and now here I am smack dap in the middle of my Aunt's estate, trying to maintain some small bit of my own life. It has not been easy. I do not want to carry these responsibilities as burdens; however especially with my Aunts estate issues right now it does feel a bit like an anvil on my own life. This is where I start to wonder if being the family keeper right now is my current life's work. That's right me the one that never kept anything is suddenly the family keeper, how ironic is that?
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