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" Marisa and her mom&amp;#x27;s books Hi everyone, we have an awesome guest blogger today with a very interesting and important topic. I&amp;#x27;m really curious to hear your thoughts. Take it away, Marisa!Hi, there. It&amp;#x27;s Marisa. Remember me? A couple of months ago I first posted on Erin&amp;#x27;s blog to tell you about my new blog, Sally&amp;#x27;s Circle, a safe place where anyone can share thoughts about having a parent who is sick or has passed away. I started the blog because my mom, Sally, passed away of pancreatic cancer six years ago when I was 20. Now I&amp;#x27;m back in hopes that you&amp;#x27;ll give me some advice. My dad might sell our house this year and move in with his girlfriend. I&amp;#x27;m happy for him (she&amp;#x27;s a great lady and he&amp;#x27;s really content), but the decision leaves a little emotional clutter and A LOT of physical clutter: What do I do with all my mom&amp;#x27;s stuff? I started small and first had my dad bring me my mother&amp;#x27;s books. Sally was quite the reader. After work or on the weekends, she loved to curl up in bed and read. As a teen, I&amp;#x27;d bring her a mug of Lemon Soother tea with honey and a wedge of lemon. She&amp;#x27;d smile at me, then turn back to Tuesdays With Morrie or the newest smutty novel from Danielle Steel. Sometimes I&amp;#x27;d bring a book and hijack Dad&amp;#x27;s side of the bed, eager to snuggle beside her. But the four grocery bags of books my dad brought me didn&amp;#x27;t include Morrie or Danielle; these were my mom&amp;#x27;s books from her 20s. How did I know? On the front flap of each book she wrote her maiden name and NYC West Village apartment. The collection was a strange mix: trashy &amp;#x27;70s romance, classic poetry, Jewish fiction, and female anatomy 101. My question to you: What do I do with my mother&amp;#x27;s books? More so, what do I do with all the other items she loved? Her favorite ceramic dishware with the pretty blue butterflies? Sterling silver pins of cats and other silly jewelry we bought her over the years? Porcelain dolls she kept on her windowsill? A box of silk scarves that don&amp;#x27;t even smell like her anymore? Will holding onto these objects help me hold onto my mother? Or are some items better suited for Salvation Army than for offering me any salvation? (P.S. That&amp;#x27;s where we donated almost all of her clothing right after she passed away.) For those who have lost someone or haven&amp;#x27;t, whether it&amp;#x27;s heirloom jewelry or passed notes from 7th grade, what do you do with all the &amp;quot;stuff&amp;quot; you accumulate? Do objects carry sentimental meaning, or can we keep alive those emotions without all the clutter? Thanks for your help, and please pass on Sally&amp;#x27;s Circle to anyone you think it might comfort. This way none of us have to be alone in making big decisions like these!"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/life-with-cancer/2009/01/-hi-there-its-marisa>