“Clear your stuff off MY lawn, before I call the cops!” My DIL claimed to have inherited the house after my father passed away and threw all of my family’s possessions out onto the lawn! Soon after, my son arrived, and she was severely struck by karma.

I had been rummaging through decades’ worth of memories in moving boxes when Dad’s lawyer called regarding the reading of the will. I called my son Matt and asked him to come instead of me because I couldn’t bear to go to the lawyer’s office.“Yes, Mom,” he answered. “Are you sure you don’t need help to sort through Grandad’s things?”

I said, “Thanks, but I’m getting by.” Later today, I’m going to pick up his stuff from the assisted living facility. Would you please come over this afternoon and let me know if you have any special memories of him? I was so sure the will reading would be a simple, unsurprising event. How mistaken I was.

The smell of the nursing home was a combination of wilted flowers and antiseptic that made my throat tighten. A young nurse handed me Dad’s things, all neatly packed in an old, plain cardboard box, and I took a reassuring breath.