Time is ticking. Mom and dad have talked about selling their house for over a year now, and they've stepped up the process by looking for a place in River City, and prepping the ol' homestead for the market. This is going to be a big transition....in fact, they've never bought and sold a home. When they were first married, they moved a mobile home onto grandpa's farmstead and within a few years built the house in a woods on the farm in 1973. They've been there ever since. And except for a few fragments of memories from my toddler days, the house they built is really the only one I can remember from my childhood days.
I know it is going to be difficult. I can't imagine not having that house to come "home" to after more than 40 years. Mom insisted on having a get-together over Memorial Day weekend, thinking that it may be the last time all of us siblings, and our kids...and grandkids, would be together in the house. I don't even want to think about the monumental task of moving and downsizing.
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| My room-turned antique/plant room. The only corner view in the house. |
My grandparents were in their houses for 46 years and their entire lifetime since it was handed down from generation to generation. My wife's parents have been in their house for about the same length of time as my parents. People don't do this anymore these days. We've moved once, after spending 11 years in our first house and going on 7 years at the farm. At 11 years, we were some of the "oldest" neighbors in the neighborhood. It seems that these days people are so disconnected to their homes, families, communities, neighborhoods and other circles that once held our broader communities together. Our connections are now social media based and it makes me wonder if our inability to be civil in our discourse doesn't follow the trend to be disconnected in real time.
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6 comments:
My parents left their home of 38 years in 2014. It was a relief. I miss going home, but the place had gotten to be more than they could handle. They moved down here to Indy and got a condo not far from my house. I see them a lot more now, and that's a real upside.
Unfortunately we live in a mobile world now. Young people must follow their jobs. The days of having our families close by are long gone. Wish it wasn't so but that's life, I guess. In your case, it's your parents downsizing (which I completely understand) and moving on. I dread that day for us because of all of our 'stuff'! So much stuff and 'junk' we don't need and our kids don't want. Wishing good luck to your parents on their next life adventure.
Cut loose from our moorings, drifting in a morass of doubt and uncertainty? Yes, that might contribute to incivility. Interesting idea you proposed.
I think anyone that has ever driven on US 6 recognizes that house.
I just drove by it again on traveling to Argos (from Goshen) today to finish up some work at a new restaurant there. I stumbled on your blog in looking for some photos of Argos.
I love the old homes and the stories behind them. In fact, my own house is 116 years old.
There are some great old homes in Argos. Thanks for stopping by the blog.
Catching up on your blogs and enjoying. I am proud to say that my father, your dad's first cousin, built the home you grew up in. I thought they still lived there. Guess I'll have to catch up even more.
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