In the fall, Mom & Dad found a place to live in Lewisville, very near the nursing home where mom was for so long. It is called Evergreen, and is a senior living center. It is an apartment, with rent based on income, and they were very pleased with their selection and the folks there (they picked a 2-bedroom apartment). It will not be the same as living in the 3-bedroom house, but should be OK for "downsizing." It is still under construction; the original completion date was March 31, 2011, but now may be ready as early as February 15, 2011. We'll keep you posted.
November was a busy month! There were rumblings about the house in October- in November they became full blown, and the house sold in mid-November, with an agreement that all would be cleared by November 29th. That means things needed to move (so to speak!) in a hurry! Mom and Dad had packed some boxes and given some stuff away, but it is a big house, and they had lived there almost 50 years. The plan was to move most of the items that would eventually come to Lewisville to Pam & I took off November 15-17 to help pack. We got the kitchen and basement (mostly) done, and actually finished out a room or two. Pam & I came back to work on Thursday and Friday (November 18-19) and left Saturday morning, November 20th, to finish up.
One of the first things we did when we went back was to contact an estate sales person Pam knew from Midland that helped when her parents moved to the area. Through a series of calls, we finally got someone to agree to do a sale, but only if we could get an extension (so the sale could be December 3-4). Because the house needed a new roof (insurance paid for that, by the way...), we were able to get an extension with the realtor and buyer. That made everything go a lot easier! The estate sales people would stage and run the sale, keep 30%, and send the folks the rest. All we had to do was determine what was to be kept, box it, and take it to the storage building; we left everything else in the house. That included Dad's tools in the garage, storeroom, and basement, as well as his trains, lots of old books and toys, etc. Some furniture remained (they had already sold some of the furniture) and the rest was stored.
Because it was the Thanksgiving holiday (and we had Mom's family coming to Coppell to spend the day with us), we felt it was important we actually move on Monday. We finished packing a lot of the house on Saturday and decided that, yes, Monday would work. We contacted a local mover Sunday night and they were at the house at 9:30 Monday morning to move the rest of the furniture.
Sunday was a very emotional day for Mom & Dad; we made them go to church for the last time (including a church luncheon). They resisted at first, but I think after all was said and done, they were glad they went. The pastor recognized them during the service, and there were a lot of tearful goodbyes throughout. It's hard when you've lived there since 1955!
Sunday was a whirlwind day to get everything finished. The back two rooms (office and master bedroom) had a lot of decision-making to be done. With the movers coming Monday morning, quick decisions had to be made, especially about what important papers, documents, etc. to keep and what could be stored for a while.
The movers showed up and got everything moved to storage (COMPLETELY filling the extra-large storage room!) in about 3 hours; by noon, we were ready to load the three vehicles (Mom & Dad's car, our van and pickup) and head out. By the time we got everything done, visited various companies (including the realtor) and others, it was about 4:30 before we actually left Big Spring for good.
We arrived that night around 9:00 and got everyone unloaded and into bed. Tuesday was definitely a day of rest and recovery (and finding where everything finally was) and some unloading. Wednesday was a day of preparation for Thanksgiving. We were all grateful for not moving on Tuesday as was originally planned!
Thursday saw Pam's family (Dad Arnold, brother Mike, niece Preslie) as well as all the Bearden clan come for lunch. Aunt Doda (Lloyd Ola Bearden, Mom's sister), my cousin Sue, my cousin Mike and his wife Molly, and boys Michael and Ian all came for the day- it was a great Thanksgiving day!
Everyone has settled in to routines now. Pam and I tend to work late (often past 8:00 p.m.) so we don't often get supper together, but do enjoy the occasions where we can come in earlier (such as on Wednesdays when we have church activities).
The boys came in for Christmas, and Michael brought his girlfriend Le'Ann as well as her brother and parents, so it was a great family Christmas again with all sorts of folks here! We loved having Mike and Ann Duran with us, as well as Spencer. It was a lot of fun, and the kids all fixed Christmas dinner for all the "old" folks-- it was SOOO good! Ham & turkey with 13 side dishes! Yum!
The kids leave on December 29th, so it will be sad to see them go. They have had friends in and out as well as all kinds of relatives, so it has been great fun.
Mom has already started in-home therapy and goes back to the doctor in January or early February, so I'll try to update again when we have more news.
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