Sunday 19th April
Find out about GoodGym TaskForce
Report written by Kash
There are places in our minds, those blurry, obscure corners, that we don't want to come back to. They may not necessarily be bad memories. Those chapters of our lives might have been beautiful, but they became bitter after the loss of something or someone we know is not coming back. That makes it so painful to revisit the past.
For Miss D, that mental place was represented in the physical world by the corner of her bedroom she'd been avoiding for almost two years after her close family members' passing. She'd go across the ocean and return with three suitcases into which she had to condense all that remained after her two relatives. Two people's lives, reduced into three suitcases, out of necessity. Hastily chosen photo albums, papers, clothes - a legacy constrained by airlines' luggage policy.
To dare to go down memory lane, Miss D needed companions - people who knew nothing about her family's past, but were willing to join her on that difficult journey. Sevan and Kash sat with Miss D and opened the suitcases together, one by one. The first one was half-filled with Miss D's travel clothing, which the lady set aside for washing. The rest of the contents - the late relative's clothes and his laptop - went into the second suitcase, which had only a few items belonging to the same person, and stacks of photos, carefully unpacked beforehand.
The third, smallest suitcase had the belongings of Miss D's closest family member. The three opened it, but Miss D, after hesitation, decided it was not the right time. The small suitcase filled the remaining space in the big one, just like two Russian dolls. Miss D was left with only two suitcases taking up space in her room, one of which was now empty and ready to be donated.
Continuing the momentum, Miss D opened a few boxes that occupied the problematic corner. The items she found inside also carried an emotional load, but were easier to process. With the assistance of the GoodGymers, Miss D sorted through her paperwork, diaries, magazines, photos, greeting cards and other items, deciding to keep her journals and meaningful papers, while discarding plenty of leaflets and newspapers that no longer needed to be read or kept. All those papers went to the recycling bag, as Miss D was proud to be the Queen of Recycling, a title she'd lived up to. The meaningful paperwork was sorted into one parcel, and the rest of the cardboard boxes, potentially useful in the future, were put inside one another, again like Russian dolls.
"Thank you so much for coming here on a Sunday. I wouldn't do this without you, guys" - Miss D said.
"You have done it yourself" - Sevan replied.
Hammersmith and Fulham
Make sure that no one in our local community has to go hungry
