Margie's Bookshelf

Subtitle: Darker Seasons

It's hard to know what to think and feel these days when there are so many distressing things happening in our country. But one thing I do know is that I feel a bit better when I do a little something that benefits someone else. 

Part One:

When Margie, my mother-in-law, moved to Maine she did an amazing job of pairing down a lifetime of accumulated stuff. The only thing she ever regretted not keeping was more of was books. She loved her books.

When it became clear that she was not going to go back to her apartment after her fall, we donated most of her furniture. 

We kept a few pieces she might have needed if she ended up in a smaller nursing room and of course all of her books and other personal treasures. One of the pieces of furniture that landed in our garage was her small bookshelf. 

It was the focal point in her living room along with her peace wall. She was proud of the depth and breadth of her small library and wanted it center stage....and she was always adding to it.

I would arrange the top of the bookshelf with seasonal decorations and during those in between seasons it held precious gifts from around the world given to her by people she loved. She especially enjoyed tiny lights on the top of the bookshelf on a timer that would come on in the evening during the darker seasons.

After her death, and once it was clear that no one we knew needed the bookshelf, Paul and I took it to a local consignment store. Just yesterday, I picked up a modest check for $65 and I think Margie would be tickled with what I did with the money.

Part Two:

On Thursday I did a volunteer shift at Maine Needs. Several of the clients I shopped for needed cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products...and Maine Needs generally has a pretty decent supply of those things. Two of the women specifically asked for tampons and/or pads....and the bin was completely empty. It made me so sad. Most of us take for granted having enough of these very personal items.

Margie was VERY picky and passionate about her personal care and hygiene products whether is was toothpaste or bar soap. And there was only ONE kind of pad she liked...and I was the only one allowed to shop for them. (Sorry to get so personal...but she wouldn't mind. She loved being mentioned on the blog....especially for a good cause.)

So when I left left the consignment store with the $65 check...the first thing I thought of was to buy as many tampons and pads I could with it to make a dent in the empty bin. I dropped them off at Maine Needs on my way home...and shed a few tears of joy for having had Margie...and her bookshelf in my life.

And I'm smiling this evening as I write this thinking about someone else's books on her shelf...and maybe a little set of lights on top during the darker seasons.