neurodegenerative condition.

Anyway, I recently read a letter he wrote about 8 years ago detailing how he wants all of his personal belongings divided among his kids. Most of these are items my parents bought after I grew up and, as such, have little to no sentimental value to me. Most of it also tends to be collectable-type stuff that isn't worth much and has little to no practical use (as my wife says, "stuff that ends up in a box in the basement collecting dust").

But reading my dad's letter, I got the sense that my dad really valued this stuff (as well as which kid ended up getting what). For example, he went into great detail about how it was to be divided up (i.e., what went to whom) and how we are to handle situations where two or more of us might have interest in the same item(s).

My dad was never a compulsive hoarder but, in some ways, his apparent affection for this stuff reminded me of the emotional attachment that compulsive hoarders often have for their tangible possessions.

In the meantime, he wrote a trust that more or less disinherited his kids from most of the rest of my parents' estate (e.g., real estate, investments, cash, etc.).

It reminds me somewhat of the movie "Rain Man" where Tom Cruise's character gets a used car and some rose bushes but is otherwise disinherited, except in this case, my dad wasn't acting out of spite toward his kids (at least I don't think he was). Instead, I think that he genuinely expected his kids to be more excited about getting a share of their collectables than anything else.

As someone who doesn't care much about collectable-type stuff, it made me realize that I really don't understand my dad (and probably never will before it's too late).