House for Sale

Today, my mother informed me that my childhood home is ready for sale. The realtor has taken both interior and exterior photographs for the website advertisement and all the required disclosure paperwork has been filed. In a few days, the house will be searchable on the World Wide Web for anyone interested in purchasing it. After nine months of waiting, the inevitable has finally arrived.

Surprisingly, I am not overly distraught by this event, at least not that I can discern as of yet. I suppose this is due to the fact that I have never actually seen the house empty, my being in New England and the house being in the Upper Midwest. Unfortunately, my mother, sister, and aunt have not been so serendipitously spared, but they all seem to be holding up remarkably well despite months of backbreaking work to declutter, clean, and prepare the house for showing (boy, did I get off easy!). I suppose, too, I am not that distraught because the house hasn’t been part of my daily life for almost twenty years, between living away for college and marrying a sailor who took me to distant ports of call (like Connecticut). My lack of distress could also be due to the fact that I am in denial. I don’t think I am in denial, but then again, how would I know?

The idea of non-relatives living in a house that has been in my family for over 45 years is difficult to visualize. To think of visiting my hometown and not heading down Main Street to the county historical museum, turning left, and then driving down the hill to the next corner where I can look across the street at my parent’s home seems surreal. Picturing non-family automobiles parked on the side street for picnics and holiday parties is a snapshot that just won’t come into focus. Part of me feels as if this is the only home I have ever known.

That said, I am trying to put this transition in perspective. As emotionally challenging as the sale may be for all of us, it is hardly a new occurrence when viewed in the context of genealogy and history. Every generation has experienced this farewell. I can think of several houses in my lifetime that either passed out of the family, or out of existence altogether: the Henkel home in Mechanicsville being one; the Nimz home in Elmore being the other. I don’t recall how my mother and my aunt handled those goodbyes since I was too young to remember many details. I do, however, see how my mother and my aunt are handling this goodbye, with the same grace and pluck that they apply to every life situation. It makes me wonder if my ancestors did as well. No doubt, I will never have an answer to that question.

I do, however, have an answer for how I plan to deal with the sale of this beloved residence --- prayer. I plan to pray that a blessed new beginning is in store for the old house, a beginning that includes a family with small children, a family who will keep the building and grounds in good repair and use them wisely to create wonderful memories for their kids, the way my parents did for my sister and me. I plan to pray that the new owners will respect the house as the repository of almost 100 years of history, a history that they are now privileged to augment, as my family and those who came before us were likewise so privileged to do. Finally, I plan to pray that the house becomes as much of a home for the new residents as it did for my family and friends who, over the years, lived and loved and learned and laughed much within those charming old walls. Godspeed and much happiness to the home that served us so lovingly and so well. Adieu, good friend. Adieu.

Bless this house, O Lord, we pray.
Make it safe by night and day.
Bless these walls so firm and stout,
Keeping want and trouble out.
Bless this roof and chimney tall,
Let thy peace lie overall.
Bless these doors that they may prove
Ever open to joy and love.
Bless the windows shining bright,
Letting in God’s heavenly light.
Bless the hearth a-blazing there,
With smoke ascending like a prayer.
Bless the people here within…
Keep them pure and free from sin.
Bless us all, that one day, we
May be fit, O Lord, to dwell with Thee.

If you are interested in purchasing my childhood home, please visit this realty webpage.