Parting with the stuff.........

We moved my Mom across the street from us, everyone thought my husband was nuts to have the mother in law so close! We love it and it is so much nicer and we wish it would have happened years ago! Because of that we have been getting ready to have a living-estate sale of my mom & dad's stuff in preparation to sell our family home. The house is where our parents raised us kids and they moved to it when I was only 2 years old. Cleaning out the attic of a house with 55 years of living it is quite the task and full of memories at every turn! It is where I have buried treasure somewhere in the yard, I buried it when I was about 6 years old. I think a room addition might be over it now. Our dogs Frisky and Spooky are buried there in the backyard. Frisky was my best friend until she died when I was 15 years old, I was traumatized and I could not remember her not being a part of our family. I think we got her when I was 2 years old. Spooky was my dog I brought into our family when I was about 20 years old. Spooky was an ugly-cute Catahoula Leopard-Aussie mix dog that was given to me, and Dad was very angry when he found her there. Spooky turned out to be my dad's buddy and when I left home I could not have the dog....My dad said to me "don't you even think of taking that dog with you". I remember when Spooky died unexpectedly when she was about 10 years my dad cried...I had never saw that before, dad's don't cry! My heart broke for him and who would have thought he would love that crazy lovable mutt so much with the wild eyes! My dad ultimately took his last breathe himself in that house, he died of lung cancer 22 years ago. Everything makes you think of the times past and all the love that was felt there. As with everything in life things change, it is letting go of the tangible things we seem to want to hang onto, with the false belief it will keep the memories alive in us. I know that is not true, that is in our heart, but it does not make it any easier part with "stuff".