This one was a page turner. I couldn’t stop reading it!
When Jess’ mom passed away, she had to take care of her mom’s belongings while processing her grief. She stumbled upon The Museum of Ordinary People. That’s where the belongings of people like her mom were collected. Those people weren’t famous stars, renowned artists, or historical characters. They were just ordinary people, but they used to be important to someone.
Everything in there, from the smallest object to the largest, had once been loved and treasured by someone. And Thomas Barclay, for whatever reason, saw that and made it his mission to save these things, to prevent them from just ending up as landfill, to honor the memories of the people who had once owned them. I think it’s such a wonderfully noble and romantic idea.”
Perhaps none of us is in line to the throne, perhaps none of us will ever win an Academy Award or walk on the moon, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t made a difference while we’re here to the people who love us.
By sorting through her mom’s belongings, Jess is sorting through her emotions, too. She’s processing it alone, at her own pace, and in her own ways.
The truth is, I was tired of being sad all the time, of feeling like I was just going through the motions, of constantly being trapped in the past. I don’t know how long grief is supposed to last—some say three months and others six—but I really was pinning all my hopes on twelve being the magic number, the point in time that would mark a kind of new beginning. I needed to try to get some of my old life back, to be a better friend, a better partner, to really start living again.
The museum was the awakening for Jess. She was drifting in life, not living. She put away her dream and passion because life carried her along.
“Because I’ve been drifting,” I reply. “I’ve been drifting for a long time. I’ve just been going with the flow, putting up as little resistance as possible, and daft as it might sound, your museum makes me want to stop doing that, and really do something deliberate, something with a purpose.”
And her romance with Alex was cute, too! He cared about her and was there for her the whole time. He encouraged her to pursue her dreams and gave her all the support she needed. Mike Gayle, you could be my next favorite romance author.
Things to think about
- Do you have anything that makes you forget the time and look forward to when you wake up in the morning?
- You can process grief on your own terms.
- Don’t feel guilty for leaving something behind to become a better version of yourself.
- You deserve to take space and express yourself. You deserve to be heard and seen. Don’t hide things that you love.
- Don’t let fear dictate your decision-making.
- Be with someone that makes you smile talking about them. Someone that makes it their job to make you happy.
…that’s life, isn’t it? Messy, complicated, and frequently less than ideal.