Sock It To Me in Dementiaville

I went through Romeo's dresser today with the intention of boxing up his unused, out of season clothing and storing them, getting them out of the bedroom, into the storage room, making room for my new life without Romeo. There is a lot of this sort of thing to do throughout the condo.

It's not so much that I'm removing every trace of Romeo. It's more like I'm returning my space to what it was before I knew him -- only better, more to suit the new me. I'm a different person than I was when I first moved here, after the divorce from my first husband. And I'm a different person than I was when I first met Romeo. Life does have a way of turning us upside down and shaking us out. After a time, when the time is right for us, we must reassemble ourselves.

This is what I'm up to, going through the condo bit by bit. It's what I'm committed to doing (between other appointments, activities, etc.) for as long as I need to do it, for as many days as it takes to go through the entire condo, to pick up Romeo's things and store them, to honor the time Romeo and I have been together, to honor what the two of us have been through, and what we have yet to experience along this road.

Back to Romeo's dresser. It has six large drawers. Each measures 27" long, 15" deep, and 6" tall. They hold a good deal of clothing, the usual stuff: pajamas, t-shirts, shorts, pants, underwear, the odd trinkets. And oh, yes -- socks. Lots of socks. Lots and lots of socks. Two drawers stuffed full of socks.

How many pairs of socks are there? Well, Romeo has athletic socks, dress socks, thick warm socks, thin socks, slipper socks, socks to wear to bed. I count 102 pairs in all. One hundred and two pairs of socks. Enough for the rest of his lifetime, perhaps.

I box them up, remembering the days when he was able to dress himself, when he could put on his own socks. I box them up, wondering if he'll ever get to wear all of them, wondering how long he had been hoarding socks, wondering what other surprises are in store for me as I make my way through the rest of the condo.