Time capsule

Gary spent yesterday at Nan and Grandad's house. Actually, I suppose it's just Nan's now isn't it. He spent a grey drizzly Saturday filling bin bags and boxes with a life time. Clearing out Grandad's room.

~*~

Just off of the kitchen in my grandparents house is a small room. It was once a bedroom for my youngest uncle, then it turned into my Grandad's room. Housing a PC, records, cross stitches, magazines and old wall paper. He would spend most of his spare time in there and when we visited on Sundays, he was only ever in his garden or in his room. It was his 'den'.

~*~

And now his den is empty of everything except a computer and a chair. His books, vinyls, crafts, photos are all now in boxes along my hall way. I came home from work yesterday and found them sitting there, wanting to be looked at again, after months of being left alone.

~*~

Steffi and Gary showed me pictures from before I was even thought about. Photos of them as a couple younger than me. My nan in a flat cap, my uncle with thick black hair, my grandparents living room with the same carpet I played with my toys on. All these images captured forever and left in a time capsule next to my nan's kitchen.

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That's when I had one of those moments where the room goes fuzzy. I realised again that Grandad was gone. And I freaked out a little. I think it's because Grandad was phased out of our lives. We went from seeing him a lot, to seeing him sometimes, to rarely seeing him at all to a time where he was too ill to want us to see him. And I think it's because of the phasing out that I forget sometimes he's gone. A little part of me still thinks 'He's in the home, sleeping, dreaming of golf.'. It's hard to accept the fact that he's not going to come out of that small room next time I visit the house.

~*~

These yellowing photos have out lives the person that took them. He's left his memories for others to take care of.

~*~

It's just heart breaking to realise once more how he himself is just another 'memory'