My niece had a thing about closets. Mother testified that when Lindsay would stay with her, the little girl would find a closet and drag the contents of the closet into the room. We never discovered the source of her fascination with closets. For twenty years mom hid a closet from Lindsay. The way the doors in her house were arranged provided a way to hide the closet in the family room. It was “behind the door.” Katie’s kids knew the closet was there, because the vacuum cleaner resided in that closet. Vacuuming the house was a childhood chore for Katie’s three kids.

When mom died and we were cleaning out the house, we cleaned out that closet. Lindsay was present when we revealed the closet. She’s been in and out of that house for twenty years and never knew the closet was there. We told her the story of her closet dumping and why mom didn’t want her in the family room closet. She was amused and moved to hear the family tell of grandma hiding the closet from her.

Last weekend my bride was in Natchitoches. She and her mom came down to start the packing process. She created several piles of stuff that I am to take to Good Will. There are other stacks in the house known as “Garage Sale.” I believe that Garage Sales are an abomination before the Lord God Almighty and probably do damage to one’s spiritual life. My bride loves putting on Garage Sales. She has one every time we move. She is planning a nuclear Garage Sale on Mother’s Day weekend. You might want to pay attention, because if it isn’t nailed down, bolted down, or related to us, we are selling it that weekend.

She started in the back of the house and worked her way forward. She ignored the Hobby Lobby closet in the hallway. It is a huge closet in the hallway. It is a bit of Kaffie Frederick, Sherwin-Williams, Williams Sonoma, and Hobby Lobby. Everything is in that closet! She put crime scene tape over the door and told me to stay out. She would clean that closet.

When she arrived at the kitchen, she filled the counter with every plastic cup we have collected in Natchitoches. Lots of places in our town have their logo on plastic cups. There were several caught at various parades. She had every nook and cranny in the kitchen stuffed with stuff. Expired spices and plastic cups were discarded. I learned that spices expire. Who knew that the Oregano from 2006 was no good?

All the cabinet doors were opened. There was a trash bag in the floor that was filled to brim with stuff I could throw away. The doors in the cabinets above the sink were opened too. I have lived in that house for ten years. I have watered plants, filled doggy water bowls, washed dishes, filled pans with water and looked out the windows at the kitchen sink. I even hung the light above the sink! I never noticed the two-cabinet doors above the sink. They are small doors and small storage spaces; I didn’t know they were there. Some of her most valuable kitchen things were “hidden” above the sink.

How can you miss a cabinet above the sink? I guess I failed to look up.

I remembered mom hiding a closet from my niece Lindsay.  I am looking around the church to see if there are other things I have missed. In this case, I am guilty of not paying close attention.

I think my Lenten discipline will be giving up distraction.