Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Mom is Selling Her House!

Fingers crossed that this works out, but as I write this, my mom has accepted an offer for her house. This is exciting and sad and scary. If all goes well, it will keep her from wasting all her income on maintaining a single family house. She spent thousands of dollars this past winter just on snow removal! But it does worry me a little about turning her biggest asset into cash, as cash has a way of slipping through my mother's fingers very quickly. At one point she talked about putting a lot of the proceeds in trust for me and my sister, but I am not sure if she still plans to do that. If she doesn't, I do worry that she'll start blowing a lot of cash on moving expenses, storage expenses, buying new stuff, decorating whatever new place she moves into, etc.
And it's sad to think that my childhood home won't be part of our family life anymore. It's the only home I ever knew, as I was only 9 months old when my parents bought the house. My father once said he had figured it would be a starter home, and that they'd someday move to a bigger house, but the day when he felt he could afford it never arrived.
But in some ways, the house I fondly remember is already gone. Since my father died, my mother has thrown out so many things and changed so much about the house. To me, it has barely a trace of personality or identity to it any more. It smells like floor polish, paint fumes and scented candles now, not like oriental rugs and books. It will be strange not to have a home base in my old town, though. I've always loved going back during the summer, when I could walk a half mile down to a beach where I could take an icy-cold swim, or just walk and sit and think. My mother might move back there someday, but in the near future, she'll move to my grandmother's house so she can help take care of her, and after that, she may end up wanting to live closer to my sister. My sister's house will be where I go when I say I'm going "home" to visit my family. I guess that's how it goes, this shifting over the years as you become less centered on your parents and more centered on the next generation. My niece and nephew are now their own little people, with such distinctive personalities. It hit me the other day that I only have a few more years before they vanish into the black hole of teenagerdom. I have to spend as much time as possible with them now while they are still kids, and then wait a while until they emerge into adulthood-- perhaps that is a bleak view, but I'm trying to prepare myself for a few years where they'll be uncommunicative and think I'm a big nerd rather than their fun, wacky aunt!
Here's the funny thing-- my mother copied both of the kids on her email to my sister and me about her house sale! I asked her why, especially as she was telling us not to tell anyone until the deal was done, and I thought the kids would be the most likely to blab. It turns out they watch some of those real estate TV shows, so they've been quite interested in my mother's whole process, and she trusts them not to tell.
Let's hope there is more news to tell soon!

2 comments:

Brent said...

Fingers crossed!

I won't tell anyone either.

Unknown said...

I agree that moving out is rather emotional especially when you have lived in that particular house for more than half of your life. However, change is necessary in order to progress forward and move on in life. Initially the whole process will take a toll on your mental self, but eventually you know that it is indeed essential for you to grow.