I recently launched a new business called ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฑ๐ญ ๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ: ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐.
Within days of launching the venture, I landed my first client. Soon afterward, radio/podcast host Penny Wolfgang invited me to discuss my fledgling enterprise on her, โOn Targetโ Radio Show. That opportunity was followed by interest in my services from a successful Western New York real estate executive.
However, all of those achievements were eclipsed by a moving commitment I made last fall to my brother-in-law.
I promised to travel upstate and help sort and prioritize the possessions belonging to him and his wife/my sister-in-law in preparation for her move from their home into a small apartment.
His request was not a casual one. He was in the final stages of advanced COPD and was asking me to make sure his beloved wife would be cared for after he died. He passed away on November 30.
To be clear, downsizing and moving are experiences I know well. When I was married and became a mother to two young children, I soldiered through 12 moves in 10 years.
Later in life, I professionally guided hundreds of older adults through the moving process as they transitioned into the Fox Run at Orchard Park Continuing Care Retirement Community.
I additionally gained extensive hands-on moving experience in helping relocate my mother, father, daughter, grandchildren, and several close friends whom I consider family. In other words, I knew what I was getting into when I made that moving commitment to my brother-in-law. Or so I thought.
Last Sunday, I set off for New York Stateโs โNorth Countryโ on a journey to make good on my family promise. I took with me my tried-and-true routine when guiding people through the moving process---๐๐๐: ๐umpster, ๐onate, ๐eep.
While my โthree pile systemโ may not be perfect, itโs a pretty fail safe means of helping people reach those impossible decisions about all of their โstuff!โ I felt confident that I could efficiently and thoughtfully help my sister-in-law get packed and ready to move.
In reality my confidence quickly faded as she began unpacking long-stored-away boxes of treasures:
Her husbandโs hand-written โHead Chefโ recipes.
His meticulously crafted class notes for food electives he taught to generations of culinary students.
Post-it notes he placed throughout pages of box-after-box of cookbooks---many which had been penned by internationally-renowned chefs whom he knew and, in some cases, partnered with in creating culinary delights.
Awards, commendations and thank yous from food organizations, restaurant owners, culinary learning institutions and students from across the United States and Europe.
And most importantly, memories my sister-in-law related to each recipe, every course curriculum and the collection of carefully tabbed cook books--- revealing how deeply the two of them were connected in their passionate dedication to creating exquisitely presented and extraordinarily delicious food.
After taking a few days to reflect onโand releaseโthe emotions stirred within me by the experience, I donโt believe any downsizing/moving project will ever more meaningfully teach me what it means to move peopleโand their memoriesโwith care.
#HeartandSoulStoryteller #TheNextChapter