Clump #47:  Take down photos on boards and put in an album.

This is a tough one.  My father passed away last summer and I still have the two poster boards with photos I brought to his funeral in the study I’m clearing out.  I’ve been averse to disturbing them, but they remind me of the funeral, a very sad time, more than the fullness of his life.

I went to Target and bought an album.  I’m trying not to get too picky-scrap-booky about it.  Just put the pictures in as best I can, and write a few labels.

The thing is, my dad would not have wanted a shrine built to himself. Unlike me, he was very practical and organized.  The shrine I have inadvertently made in this room is one of clutter and neglect, the complete opposite of what he stood for.  Kind of like the shrine to inner peace, simplicity, and spiritual knowledge in the midst of stuff, stuff, and more stuff that I saw recently in a Pier 1 store.

This past Saturday was a low day for me, what with the crushing realization of how little I know about modern technology and the rejection of books (and, a little bit, of me) at the used book store.  I came home, checked the mail, and found a lovely note from the hospice agency we enlisted to help last year with my father’s death. The note was a reminder of my dad’s upcoming birthday and the writer sympathized with how difficult that might be. I didn’t need the reminder, but it was very thoughtful of them.  Here’s my dad in an early photo with his sister:

His birthday is this Thursday, and I will honor his memory by restoring order in a place of chaos.