1998

Sold the House

Mom in the front yard of the house on my last visit. On the left you can
see my Ford Explorer, the car in the driveway is David’s.

Mom called me on January 10th and said they sold their house, house they had lived at for the past 41 years, the house I was raised in, the house full of memories.  Mom and Dad had told me they were selling it in early January, and they had put a down payment on a brand-new house in the new Blues Creek neighborhood. At the time I wasn’t sure were serious about it, I didn’t think Dad would ever leave the house after all the work he had put into the house, yard and flower gardens over so many years.  They only got $77,500 for it which I thought was low, but they said they had a complication the week before closing when it turned out the house was officially listed as being in a flood area, so they lowered the price, and the buyer accepted it.  Since the new house in Blues Creek was still being built, they worked out with the buyer that they could stay in the old house until the end of April. 

Having lived there for 41 years, Mom and Dad had saved many things from my childhood that I never got, some things I didn’t even know she had kept. She called me and said that if I wanted any of it I should come and get it because they were cleaning the house and were not going to take all the stuff with them to the new house.  There were some things I wanted, other things I didn’t care all that much about but it was too much to carry on a plane so in early February Julie and I drove my Ford Explorer down to Gainesville and spent a week with Mom and Dad.  It was a strange and somewhat sad experience to go though boxes of things, boxes of memories, keeping some, discarding others. I had mixed feelings about it, sad to see the old house go after all the wonderful memories growing up there, but also glad to see Mom and Dad move to a newer and nicer home. The new house also would fit Mom and Dad’s lifestyle of traveling better.

February 27, 1998
From email

My parents are selling their house for several reasons. My mother has wanted to sell the house for years but my dad didn't. Mom wanted a nice new house but dad isn't one for change. Also my dad is into gardening and has landscaped the yard with flowers, its quite beautiful. Several things help change his mind. The bought a summer place in North Carolina and they spend all summer up there. As a result dad has not been able to keep up the yard and so when they return he has more yard work then he wants. Also he is getting older and it is too much work for him. Also three of my uncles bought new houses in Gainesville and so mom wanted a new place too. My recent trip to Gainesville was mostly to see the house one last time. Good thing I went for they got a contract on it while we were there. It did have many "loss" feelings knowing that the family will never again be in "our" house. On the other hand my parents are excited as two children about their new house which is being built and I believe it is the best thing for them.  

Yes those child hood possessions have many memories attached. When I was home last my brother gave me a box that he said mom gave to him but it had my stuff in it. I opened it and it had all my merit badges, cards, pins and other items from my being in Boy Scouts, each with its own memory.

A couple of weeks later, Mom and Dad’s best friends Betty and Billy who lived one street over from Mom and Dad put their house up for sale and also bought a new house in Blues Creek just a few houses down the same street as Mom and Dad’s new house.

Where is Larry?