Interesting. My daughter was here for a visit and we visited some local friends. They talked about their snow birding in Hawaii and all the things they are planning for the near future. I was hit with the fact the active life we once led is no longer happening. To me it's less about the person than our activities together.

Memories are so good yet so hard sometimes aren’t they? I remember going through Richards clothes and donated most of them to a place where men can get nice clothes for work or men who are trying to find a job. He had some nice suits and casual clothes. I also gave some of his leather jackets to a slender friend of ours since Richard was such a skinny guy. I kept some of his shirts and I pull one out now and then to sleep in. Moving on and forward in our lives is not always easy after losing someone who was so precious to us, but as time goes on it does get easier.

It is a bittersweet feeling, another reminder with mixed emotions.

It's been just over a year and I'm still finding things that have to go. The heart aches with the memories knowing it was a part of him.

I'm sorry it's such a challenge to get rid of all that - it sounds like quite an expensive and bittersweet job. My husband amassed such a huge amount of junk - woodworking tools, stuff from his days doing phone line installations (which was from about 20 years before we even met, but he still had it), software programs and programming data. I had a hard time not considering it a part of him, which made it hard to part with for a long time.

I hope the melancholy of the day lifts for you soon.