Our house, is a very very very fine house....

One day last week, I drove by my grandmother's house. It's not her house anymore, but it was. Her father built it somewhere between 1905 and 1910. My grandmother was born in 1913 and lived there all her life until we had to put her in a home in the late 80's. My dad lived there for the first 24 years of his life, until he met mom, married her, and they got a place together. And I remember as a child every Sunday going to my mom's parent's house, and then going over to see my other grandma.

She'd sit in her small rocking chair (which is now in my dining room) and with large floor radio (from the 1930's) beside her and the chiming clock on top of it (which is now in my dining room), and we'd 'visit'. Mostly mom, dad and her 'visiting', I'd sit at her dining room table (which is now in my dining room) and eat saltine crackers while I doodled endlessly on the notepads she always had around the house.

I remember helping mow the grass on the riding mower. I remember the old outhouse in the backyard that they actually used up into the 1950's (dad told me he remembered using it as a kid). I remember the water pump out back that she used to get water until they got onto municipal water in the 50's as well.

When grandma's Alzheimers got too bad she had to move in with us for a few weeks until we could get her into a home. And to get her in the home, we had to sell the house. All the money in her accounts and any money from the sales went to the home to pay for her stay. And when that ran out, since it was a state run facility, the state just took her monthly Social Security check to pay for her stay, and then picked up the tab for the rest. She lived there until she died in 1995.

At any rate, we saved a few things from the sale (like those I mentioned above), but by and large everything went for sale.

The house had been through several owners, and they had made changes and improvements along the way. About 5 years ago, the home was foreclosed on, and put up for sale by the bank. My mom told me recently she and dad talked about buying the house for me, so I'd have a home and it would get the home back in the family. But they decided against it cause I showed no interest, and in fact was against owning a home.

Last year, when I was thinking about buying a home, mom suggested looking into buying the house. But I wanted a home in town, and not with a large yard, and this house didn't meet either of those. So someone else owns it still.

I'm a bit sad that the house that my great grandfather and was lived in by family members for 70 couple years isn't in the family now. But it's not a place I wanted to live, so someone else has it. And even if I DID have it, as I don't have any children and I'm the last of the family, it will be in someone else's hand when I'm gone anyway.

Still, it's nice to see that whoever has it now is at least taking care of it.

POLT