I found this on FB. It was written by Melissa Vaughn and I found it to be both meaningful and moving:

“When my mom was cleaning out her house over 23 years ago to sell it, I wasn’t very sympathetic over her attachment to things. I would go over on weekends to help her, and she would go through things…things for a yard sale, things to donate, things to throw away. I would usually get upset over how long it was taking her to decide. For instance, we were going through kitchen cabinets, and she spent 20 minutes looking on a black iron kettle with a lid.

Finally, I said, “Mom, at this rate it is going to take us another 2 years.” She told me that her mother used to make meals in that kettle and leave them at the doorsteps of neighbors during the depression. Mom would deliver them, and then it would reappear back on her porch with an apron, or a wood carving, something in return for the meal. I realized that everything my mother was going through was really a reliving of her life.” 

This is an important lesson for us to learn as we help our clients, loved ones, and maybe even ourselves as we sort through the accumulation of many years. Maybe we are helping them sort through things or maybe we are helping them sort through memories. Either way, be patient and understand that they are saying good-bye to parts of their life they will never get back.