“珍愛”有所歸
本期主題
作者：by Barbara Ross
After 56 years in the same house， my mother was selling to move into an apartment in an 1）assisted-living facility.
My father had died five years earlier and the house was becoming a burden. Mom had broken her hip the previous spring and could no longer handle the stairs， the garden or the daily maintenance that is required of a homeowner.
The list on the refrigerator of service people—furnace repairman， gardener， appliance service man—rivalled her list of doctors and health-care providers.
Her biggest concern was not selling the house， but how to 2）dispose of a lifetime of treasures collected over 60 years of marriage and travel.
She could not take them all with her and she could not leave them behind. She did not want to donate them to a charitable organization and she did not want to sell them at a garage sale for strangers to purchase for a fraction of their value. Disposing of her cherished possessions became a cause of stress and sleepless nights.
Always resourceful， my 91-year-old mother devised a course of action. She decided to host a tea and gift party. She invited her children， grandchildren， brothers， sisters， nieces and nephews. She served party sandwiches， cakes， teas and juice boxes for the younger generation.
When we got to her house， all her treasures were laid out on display. There were linen tablecloths， 3）sterling silver dishes， servers of every shape and size， crystal bowls， vases and pieces of unknown origin or purpose.
There were sculptures and artworks collected from all over the world， oil paintings and watercolours. There were kitchen and cooking 4）utensils， including an original 5）Mixmaster that my mother had received as a wedding gift in 1946.
Some of the items had been brought by my mother’s mother from Romania when she immigrated in the late 1890s.
And there were books： cookbooks， novels， histories， classics and so much more. My father was an eclectic reader and had a vast library.
Everyone was told to tour the house and take what they wanted. One of my cousins had always coveted a silver serving platter but felt badly taking it. I told him to bring it home， enjoy it and invite my mother over for dinner， serving her with the platter.