Songs in the Attic

 

I'm not good at having a quiet day.

To that end, I made a plan to finish a job years in the making. One that we started back in Mar 2021.

I emptied the attic.

I mean, empty, including the chest that's been sitting up there my entire life. Or at least that's the way I remember it. 

The truth is that this was a project that we wanted to do years ago. Mom and I used to talk about cleaning the attic since it was mostly stuff that belonged to my sister and me. My items were primarily in storage bins and that admittedly made it a bit easier to transport.

We could never seem to get organized to do the job. Then, of course, Mom died. It was no longer optional to clean the attic. It became mandatory.

My sister spent a weekend here in 2021 and she dug through years of memories. Garbage bags were filled while other items went into a pile for Goodwill.

Then it went mostly stagnant.

Finally, things got a jump start again in 2022. So much of what was left was thinned down. Eventually, I got back up there and began to assess my own things while reaching for items that were a little more out of the way or cumbersome.

Up there were goodies like my baby crib and a high chair from my youth. They went to a garbage pile at the end of the driveway. That was picked up earlier this week.

I made the commitment to finish the job today though I didn't think I'd bring the chest down.

Initially, my goal was to bring a few artificial Christmas trees down (both mine from a previous life). Neither has been put up in several years as the holidays haven't been the most pleasant of times. I've decided if I have a fresh start, I'll opt for a new, probably smaller, tree.

So I brought each bin and box downstairs. I eliminated some items -- it's cathartic, as I've said -- and combined some others. I'll continue that process as it moves along. 

I came across things related to graduating from high school. I found stuff from that other life I alluded to (and quickly threw them out unless I thought it was anything Sean would want).

I found two small baseball bats. One was a Mickey Mantle model from the era of collectible plates. Oh, and yes, I have the collectible plates. Those will either be given away or sold. But, the other bat was incredibly special.

The bat was bought for me by my father in Cooperstown upon my first trip, in 1974. In my five-year-old mind, I thought I'd get a Yankees mini-bat. No. Dad got me a Hall of Fame mini-bat with a Yankees pennant. Oh, well.

Anyway, Sean has since compiled a collection of mini-bats and I'm going to give him both of those. I can't think of a better person to be the guardian of something so precious as a bat bought for me by his grandfather. I try to do little things like that to keep my dad in Sean's mind.

I worked it all downstairs. Most of the bins went into my bedroom and will be further examined and prepared for moving to our (eventual) new life.

The baseball cards and the Yankees yearbooks and the other sports memorabilia. The collectibles.

The goodies.

The junk.

There was still the matter of the chest. In reality, it probably should have waited until I had a second person here.

But I'm stubborn. Working gingerly, I guided it downstairs, letting it rest on the ladder for assistance. It took two tries but it's sitting in the living room now where I've cleaned it up with some furniture polish. Where will it end up? I don't know yet.

There are still a lot of decisions to be made in this process.

After grabbing some things that belonged to my sister, I paused at the top of the ladder. The attic -- this magical wonderland of goodies that fascinated me as a kid -- was empty, probably for the first time since 1963.

It was also a place of bees and mice and other intrepid visitors. As time moves on I wouldn't be surprised if a ghost or two is hanging around.

But I just stood there and took it all in. There was a feeling of melancholy.

It was sad but I'm just not in the right place to mourn.

I closed the door, knowing that we'll likely check up there once more before everything is over but also realizing there's no longer a need to go back.

With the warmer days approaching, it was time to complete this job. It will soon be hot in the attic and those days can border on being insufferable. 

So, today was the day and I was glad to get it done.

The garbage pile begins again.

On to the next room.