Grandma Travels in a Cardboard Box
By Jeannine Patané • June 2004

    My parents’ attic is a magnet for clutter. It can get so bad, the second floor bedroom ceiling sags because the clutter falls between the joists, flattens the insulation and pushes on the ceiling sheetrock below. My mom joked that she’ll be killed one night by the clutter in the attic, which will give way through the ceiling and crush her to death while she’s lying in bed. I decided to soften her fear and spend some organizational time in the roof of their house.
    My mother hoped I would find her parents amongst the mess. Both of her parents were cremated, and the boxes that held their remains were last seen in the attic. No one has been able to find them up there for several years and mom feared the boxes might have been moved around and thrown out by accident. How can you lose your own parents in your own house? My sister did some cleaning last year, but she had no luck finding Grandma Lila and Grandpa Ed. I knew they were still in the attic; it was just a matter of going through every box and searching every corner.

Years past: Ed and Lila

    After two days of thorough cleaning, I came across an old, dusty cardboard box originally meant to hold Girl Scout cookies. It was pushed back in a corner behind Christmas decorations. Both Lila and Ed were in the box, properly labeled. My mother was pleased. Her parents were found, and now we could separate them.
    Lila and Ed divorced many years before they died. Ed used to talk about going to Alaska. When his children asked why he wanted to go to Alaska, he responded, “Because it’s the farthest place on this planet I can go to get away from your mother.” Since I have the opportunity to bring Grandpa Ed to his final resting ground, I put him aside for my travels north.
    After relieving weight in the attic and saving the ceiling, I was scheduled for a flight to San Diego. My mom thought it would be a good idea to take grandma, because it was only fair that Lila went somewhere special too. This isn’t the first time grandma traveled in her cardboard box. About 15 years ago, my brother took her to high school for his own version of show-n-tell. Then he kept her in the trunk of his car for a few weeks before he brought her back into the house. We like to take the family along for the ride whenever we can. I was willing to take her along on my trip to California. My parents and I wondered if airport security would let Lila through the screening area, because she was suspicious, dusty material inside a small cardboard box. Fortunately, she made it through security peacefully.
    One good thing about collecting clutter in your home is you’ll never know what you’ll find at certain times in your life. I found my grandparents, and it was the right time to take Lila along for the ride with me.

Post-Script:

Lila went sailing with my cousin and I off the coast of Mexico. She is now swimming with the dolphins and assisting numerous schools of fish.