I spent an hour or two last night sorting through some more of Mom's things she had me put in storage. The task may very well take me 6 months at the rate I'm going.
The box I sorted through last night had old church bulletins dating as far back as 1982 and from places as near as Lodi, where Mom lived for about 40 years and from as far away as St. Joseph, Missouri where she traveled to a Rabideau family reunion in 1989. Most of the bulletins were just ordinary Sunday bulletins she picked up after mass. Two were bulletins she kept because they mentioned a grandchild or two who were being baptized. I will give those to the (now grown) kids that were mentioned when I see them next.
There were also programs for graduations (I think they were 8th grade "graduations") for a couple of her grandkids.
One of more interesting items I found was a letter she wrote to no one in particular about her trip with Aunts Barbara and Theresa and Uncle Bob to the aforementioned Rabideau reunion by train. What made it interesting is that it was in a plastic bag and that there were several copies as if she was going to distribute them to different members of her family. I will be transposing that letter here, on Mom's blog sometime this week when I get more time. It shows what a good writer Mom was when she was in good health and spirits.
But the most interesting things I found in the box were postcards she had kept. Not just postcards she had sent to different members of her family over the years, but also those that were sent to Grandma Batty by some of her children that Mom felt compelled to keep when Grandma passed away. There are a couple dated in the 1930's with 1 cent stamps on them, and many others that are dated as long ago as 40 years! I will be bringing those to the Lodi remembrance and anyone who wants them can have them as a memory of Mom or Grandma.
Looking through these things are really helping me cope with the loss of Mom.
Thanks, Mom. I love you.
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