Of all the many moves we've made in our lifetime this was the hardest. (and there were a lot of them) It wasn't the discarding of things or even the packing (and there was plenty of that) but closing the doors of our parent's house for the last time was like an abrupt end of an era.
Mom and Dad had put so much of themselves into the place. They had created a warm and happy home where everyone who came there felt welcome. A place where their family and friends often gathered together to share joy and sorrow.
They had moved into their little house (the first they owned) when us children were teenagers and two had left the nest, but every time we went there for a visit we felt as if we were going home. I think most of the family, including the grandchildren (some great-grandchildren also) felt that way.
Dad, then Mom, had both passed through our world, but as long as the house and "Dads barn" was there to go to, it was almost as if a part of them was still with us.
Now, with the house sold and the furniture gone, it was all so final. Afterwards, we went back for one last look. Surrounded by so many, many memories, we walked through the empty house.
"Goodbye ole' house"
"Goodbye ole'barn"
You served us well.
Now it's time for you to start creating new memories with a new family.
The last room we passed through was the kitchen. We just stood there tears in our eyes looking around.
We could still see Mom and Dad sitting at the table, Dad sitting in his chair in the barn doorway. As we gave a sigh of longing for the past, we could almost smell freshly perked coffee and Mom baking bread and her 'special' Molasses Cookies.
With tears streaming from our eyes, we placed the keys to the house in a kitchen drawer and closed the locked door behind us.
As we backed out of the driveway, the last things we saw
was Dad's little 'red barn'
and the porch where we spent many hours reminiscing the past.
The background and picture on this page is Our "Ole'House". My thanks to S.Korz who made the backround and framed picture as a surprise gift for me.
