Re: What to do with sympathy notes....

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: Aloha Karen... : I am so sorry to hear about the passing of your loved ones, and I commend you on choosing to dwell on the good memories ;) : There are a wealth of visitors & lurkers to this section -- so I hope you get feedback from a multitude of people. : <<But now I am puzzled over what to do with the sympathy cards, flower cards, memorial notices, newspaper clippings, etc. Is it appropriate to put these in a scrapbook of sorts? Should I box each one individually and put it away and deal with them sometime in the future? : Karen your thought to put each person’s mementos in a scrapbook is a very nice idea. You mentioned you already have individual items in a sheet protector. So at this point you can elect to place those directly into a binder of sorts (& create your own cover) or switch the items to a memorabilia album. I think doing it in “separate” albums is an excellent idea! : <<Should I give my collections to the closer relatives or keep them for my children and me? : Your above question is a good one. What if you kept some special items for you & the children & then gave an album collection to the person close to the deceased at a time you feel appropriate? : The passing of a loved one is an incredibly emotional time. Memories are handled differently by each person...some are not able to deal with the emotional stress of memories for years. : I recently worked with a woman who was *finally* ready to deal with a mass of various types of paperwork accumulated in the last 7 years since her husband passed away. Amidst the “paperwork” were a few condolence cards & straggling newspaper clippings. : As we came across these papers she said “I know exactly where to put these.” It seems about a year after her husbands passing, a long time close friend presented her with an album that she created herself. It was a “Celebration of Life” album. It contained pictures from different events in the lifetime she & her husband shared together...culminating with all the beautiful correspondence that was received upon his death. It also contained items from his funeral and memorial services. : Somehow her friend was able to collect a great deal of the cards that had been sent to the wife back then. Being a long time friend she shared in many of the major events of their life too births...weddings...birthday parties....vacations etc.... : When my client decided to share the Celebration of Life” album with me she went through an array of emotions -- yet she also shared that she was so glad her close friend presented her with the album. She also shared that amidst the emotional state of her life since her husbands passing ... that she couldn’t even look at a paper with his name on it for years. : Her gratitude that day was for her friend that collected the correspondence/communication/mementos in such a thoughtful & loving way. During the last 7 years she felt utterly sure she would have “lost” much of the communications from those that attended his memorial service. Today she can open his album & find comfort & peace....& most of all she has no regrets for losing any of the mementos. : It’s not something an individual can easily take on themselves during their grieving time...yet at the appropriate time it may be a godsend to receive an album a friend/loved has created. : Hope this helps. : Much Aloha & peace, : Julie Signore - CEO : 1,2,3 SORT IT Organizing Solutions -- Innovative Tools : NSA Member, NAPO Member

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