Last time I opened the safety deposit box, mum was with me. We had just come from the court with a legalised copies of her will. I remember it was my birthday, over a year ago. Before mum placed her will inside the safe, she showed me some pieces of jewelries, some passed down from my grandparents' parents generation, or even earlier than that. There were some pieces of Canadian gold coins, which mum had intended to leave to me. As we left, she turned to me and said that she had one less thing to worry about. I, on the other hand, thought to myself as we left the bank that the next time I open this box, mum would no longer be around.
Indeed, when brother and I opened the safety deposit box, mum was not with us. Instead, there was a taxman, who came to assess the value of the contents of the box for tax purposes. When he found out that mum was a colleague of sorts (she also worked at the internal revenue service) and that she passed away barely two years after her retirement, he expressed his sincere sympathies. "So young..." he said.
The key to the deposit box clung to a keyring, which bore a little reproduction of "The Angelus". Millet's famous painting of two people deep in prayer felt just right for that moment. I stroked the face of the deposit box, and slowly turned the key. Carefully I got out the contents, and saw the very same jewelry boxes mum had shown me a year or so ago. I stroked the soft fabric of the boxes, and opened one of those. In it were some rings and amulets. In other boxes were coins and a pearl necklace. I held onto these items, and struggled hard to contain my tears. I touched each item briefly and softly. "Mum touched and held these before..." That thought crossed my mind, and a sense of sadness arose from deep within.
One thing dealt with, and many other things to deal with until mum's estate is settled. I came home late afternoon, exhausted and just collapsed into a deep sleep for close to an hour. Besides dealing with the deposit box containing mum's valuables, we also went to the local borough office to officially take mum off of the national health insurance plan. For some reason, the last month that mum was alive, she did not need to pay her premium. The lady who helped us said we can decide what to do with the national health insurance chip card. "Keep it as a momento..." I said to my brother. On it, is a beautiful picture of mum taken a few years ago for her work place. It is the same picture that was used to make her funeral portrait. On the chip card, hundreds of files contain details of mum's treatment, medicine use and an entire history of mum's appointments and health condition. I have handled this card so many times, and taken it at times on her behalf to make appointments and to check her in and out of hospital when it was not convenient for her to do so by herself. So this card contains many memories of mum and I together. I will keep in, keep it safe along with a box of personal items I am collecting and planning to take home with me back to Canada...
Later in the day, brother and I went to the tax bureau to get an official declaration that no taxes are owed. With this, we can now go to financial institutions where mum held accounts and close them one by one. Over the coming weeks, there will be a lot of running around, going to places where mum previously went to to deal with her banking affairs and trade stocks. It will in a way be trips to places I had accompanied her many times since I was young, and I can imagine when I see the buildings, the offices, and even some of the bank employers, to whom we have to stoically explain that mum has passed on, the heart will ache and the mind will have to relive those final moments again...
Now that the funeral arrangements are over, another stage of clearing up mum's affairs is just beginning.
Indeed, when brother and I opened the safety deposit box, mum was not with us. Instead, there was a taxman, who came to assess the value of the contents of the box for tax purposes. When he found out that mum was a colleague of sorts (she also worked at the internal revenue service) and that she passed away barely two years after her retirement, he expressed his sincere sympathies. "So young..." he said.
The key to the deposit box clung to a keyring, which bore a little reproduction of "The Angelus". Millet's famous painting of two people deep in prayer felt just right for that moment. I stroked the face of the deposit box, and slowly turned the key. Carefully I got out the contents, and saw the very same jewelry boxes mum had shown me a year or so ago. I stroked the soft fabric of the boxes, and opened one of those. In it were some rings and amulets. In other boxes were coins and a pearl necklace. I held onto these items, and struggled hard to contain my tears. I touched each item briefly and softly. "Mum touched and held these before..." That thought crossed my mind, and a sense of sadness arose from deep within.One thing dealt with, and many other things to deal with until mum's estate is settled. I came home late afternoon, exhausted and just collapsed into a deep sleep for close to an hour. Besides dealing with the deposit box containing mum's valuables, we also went to the local borough office to officially take mum off of the national health insurance plan. For some reason, the last month that mum was alive, she did not need to pay her premium. The lady who helped us said we can decide what to do with the national health insurance chip card. "Keep it as a momento..." I said to my brother. On it, is a beautiful picture of mum taken a few years ago for her work place. It is the same picture that was used to make her funeral portrait. On the chip card, hundreds of files contain details of mum's treatment, medicine use and an entire history of mum's appointments and health condition. I have handled this card so many times, and taken it at times on her behalf to make appointments and to check her in and out of hospital when it was not convenient for her to do so by herself. So this card contains many memories of mum and I together. I will keep in, keep it safe along with a box of personal items I am collecting and planning to take home with me back to Canada...
Later in the day, brother and I went to the tax bureau to get an official declaration that no taxes are owed. With this, we can now go to financial institutions where mum held accounts and close them one by one. Over the coming weeks, there will be a lot of running around, going to places where mum previously went to to deal with her banking affairs and trade stocks. It will in a way be trips to places I had accompanied her many times since I was young, and I can imagine when I see the buildings, the offices, and even some of the bank employers, to whom we have to stoically explain that mum has passed on, the heart will ache and the mind will have to relive those final moments again...
Now that the funeral arrangements are over, another stage of clearing up mum's affairs is just beginning.
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