Writing about our mother would require a full book, but over the past several months since her passing I have discovered even more to appreciate about the way she lived her life.

I have finally set to the task of going through her things to decide what to keep. In my childhood we did not live more than four years at a time in any one house or parsonage, as our homes were called in the Methodist church. We had little furniture of our own, so moving from one home to another was not such a big deal.

But after our mom became the breadwinner of the family, she began acquiring more household goods and furnishings. Living through the Great Depression she was one to not waste anything but also one to hold onto things she valued.

Most recently I focused on one dark corner of her basement that presented a particular challenge. Our mother loved to sew and was an expert seamstress. Predominant among the boxes I opened were rolls and rolls of fabric remnants that she had saved over the years, having made all of her clothes plus all of mine. I discovered dozens of Simplicity, McCalls and Vogue patterns used to make the pretty outfits we enjoyed, all filed neatly in box after box.

An unexpected find were mementos of our dad from his years of serving as a pastor, many sermons and keepsakes from the pastorates he served. In one box were messages/inspirational stories our mom had written for church women's meetings.

In addition I discovered letters our mom had saved that our dad had written to her from the beginning of their courtship, all safely preserved in a box off the floor. In a plastic bag suspended from a clothesline in a closet were letters from the '40s received from our grandmothers and other relatives.

Thanks to our mother's orderly life, we have more to appreciate than we realized.