In all of this, he dreamt about their life in 40 years. He wondered what kinds of collections he'd have in desk drawers and homemade shelves. He was already feeling sorry for their children. Upon his death, the children would be faced with the monumental task of making sense of all of those things. They'll see things they'd long since forgotten and discover things they never knew existed. At times, they'll be overwhelmed by the realization that its nearly impossible to separate their parents from stacks paper, a file cabinet of photos, shelves of patterns, and bolts of fabrics. "Other times," he said aloud, "they'll be baffled -- wonder if they ever knew us at all."