Questions

I posted earlier this week about my mom's scrapbooks and someone made the comment that I am still learning about her even though she is gone.  That is so true.  There are a lot of things I have been wondering about as I've been going through her things.  I wonder why she felt the need to collect all this stuff - way beyond a normal accumulation.  I know I've heard various stories as to the collection, but I just wish I really knew why!  Was it to get back at my dad for being a less-than-perfect husband on occasion...one story I've heard.  Is it because she was the only sibling to move away from the home area and so missed out on the items from the old family farm, and she was upset with her family and purchased items that were similar to things she remembered.  She never worked outside the home, so did shopping help fill the empty nest once we all moved out?  I know my grandfather was a collector, so did she inherit or acquire the habit from him?  When we finally settled down after years of moving all the time as an Army wife, and she no longer had to limit the amount of possessions we had, was it just natural to make up for lost time?  Was it because she grew up in the Depression?  I know she had plans for some of the stuff.  She collected dolls and planned on sewing clothing for them.  But then the stuff took over and there wasn't any place to work on anything and the items acquired a life of their own.  I guess my biggest question of all is why was the stuff more important than the people in her life, because eventually the stuff crowded out any ability to stop in and visit unless the weather was nice enough to sit outside.  In Washington, that isn't very often.

~Jane