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Sunday, February 5, 2012

SOC Sunday: Saying Goodbye

Stream of Consciousness Sunday is hosted by All.Things.Fadra. Post your 5-minute "brain dump," then link up at Fadra's website.


Today’s (Optional) Writing Prompt: Write about something that you unexpectedly had a hard time saying goodbye to.

When my husband and I first moved into our current house, in 2002, few of the rooms were the way we wanted them. One of the first things that m needed major surgery was the upstairs bathroom. It was so tiny, your knees touched the tub when you sat on the toilet. Obviously, we had to knock down the walls to make it bigger - but to do so, we had to sacrifice the prettiest little linen closet. I had a strange fondness for that closet, and I was sad to see it go. I still have nostalgia for it sometimes, even though I'm really glad we made room for a heart-shaped whirlpool tub.

To a lesser extent, I feel that way about the butler's pantry on the first floor - a;ll those cute little cupboards and drawers. Now demolished to make the first-floor bathroom bigger.

But the person/thing I really had the hardest time saying goodbye to unexpectedly was my parents' 6-year-old Akita-yellow lab mix, Amy. She was one of the sweetest dogs you'd ever meet. She died suddenly about three years ago of a heart condition, which no one knew she had.

7 comments:

Shah Wharton said...

Might have to take a look at this, although Sundays I do ROWer update on author blog and still have the blog hop on WordsinSync - at least I do when the damn things work! Its a new provide and this was actually my bad. I set it for next week, not this week. I've been out at hospital all day too, just got back to see it. Was out all day yesterday house hunting with a friend so never got round to noticing.

Anyway - letting you know that I linked up your blog up, although only for today. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for stopping by :) It's funny what me miss - Living in Dubai I miss the hoe cheap the supermarkets were in the UK and the massive varieties within them. I also miss Balt's which are made totally differently in Birmingham to anywhere else in the world. :)

Kenya G. Johnson said...

Awww :-(

all.things.fadra said...

Sometimes it's not just what we miss but the unexpected times and ways in which we miss them.

Erin O'Riordan said...

Shah, I have no idea what Balt's is. I can only imagine that the supermarkets in Dubai are not cheap - at least not for the products you're used to. If you ate halal goat and figs, or other Middle Eastern foods, maybe it would be different!

Thank you, Kenya.

Fadra, you're right. Can you tell it was fairly early in the morning when I wrote this?

One of the evolutionarily-oldest parts of the human brain is the rhinencelphalon, which processes smells. You can tell when you're having a rhinencephalon memory when a whiff of a scent unearths a long-buried, often very specific sensory memory. My mom could tell you that if she ever scents Evening in Paris perfume, she suddenly misses her grandmother. From both a psychological and social standpoint, it's fascinating how memories, and the feelings they evoke, are triggered.

Julie Jordan Scott said...

Even your comment about the rhinencelphalon is intriguing. I have experienced that, a lot, and was just thinking today I wanted to buy the first "fancy perfume" I ever bought... to wear again... perhaps to remember viscerally how it felt to be young & on the verge of life rather than slighty sad and grieving much of the time.

(PS - Do you do ROW80 as well? I see Shah's comment & I know her from there.)

Erin O'Riordan said...

What is ROW80?

Laine Griffin said...

I hate to think about giving up closet space. I have none!
It is never okay to lose a loved one - furry or not - especially when it is a surprise.