Life update since the death of my father…
Mom has decided to sell this house and move somewhere smaller, so that we have some money in the bank as savings. Dad left no savings at all and had no life insurance. We’ll be staying in this area, though. We might even get a two-bedroom flat, actually. Neither of us are gardeners, so a garden would be a needless burden.
Mom’s health isn’t very good (she has angina amongst other things). I’ve taken up the chores dad used to do. She needs to take it easy.
I’ve just sorted out the unbelievable mountain of junk which dad had piled up in the garage—old toys of mine we thought had been thrown out when we moved here in ’84, empty bottles and cans of DIY type stuff, loads of ropes and clips he’d brought home pointlessly from his job (long-distance driver), magazines, boxes of used nails, you name it. The place is filthy and full of spiders, so I’ve gotten through it in small bursts. We need to hire a skip to get rid of it all. Maybe even two, worse luck, because the quantity is astonishing.
Sadly, this house needs a bit of work to make it more sellable too. Most notably, new windows in the back. Mom can just scrape the money for this, but not easily. Her bedroom also needs cleaning up and I spent the first half of last week painting it. Me, painting walls! I’ve never painted anything in my life. It’s 3/4 finished but I’ve slacked off the last few days, because the heat is getting to me and it’s almost done anyway.
I’ve been listening to a bit more music recently. I sold most of my record collection off a few years back during a spell of financial difficulty. Including all my Bowie stuff, who remains one of my heroes. His recent new album and HMV’s sale of some of his classic stuff inspired me to make a few purchases… it’s been good to hear some of those old records again. Life without Ziggy Stardust is not quite the same!
I’m not incredibly depressed at the moment, but I don’t exactly feel great either. It’s a lot of shit and upheaval. I was pretty numb when dad died, but the sheer crumminess of it all sort of dawns on you slowly.