We had never been to an estate sale before, but everything in Hudson, New York just seemed so cute that we thought it would probably be cute too.
Try as it might, it wasn't. We walked into a quaint looking building and found a mostly empty room with a few bits of clothing draped over a large cushioned chair. In one corner was a pile of electronic equipment (a router, an old Apple TV and a tangle of cords). In an adjacent room was a rack of dresses and blouses. One row of shoes filled an otherwise empty armoire. The person administering the sale was pitching a couple on a small painting, clearly one of the last items she expected to sell.
These were the remaining possessions of a person's life, together for the last time before scattering in the wind. Once they dispersed there would be little evidence the woman had lived. I felt her life story unraveling before my eyes.
I was relieved when we left. Life moves on, but I didn't want to be a part of it.