For the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.
Thank you for all of you who prayed that my 98-year-old Dad's house in Washington State sold before we were out of savings to pay for his Assisted Living care (he refuses to live with us, my cousin, or grandchildren - all who have offered up their homes to him). It was on the market longer than we liked, but what we expected given that it was fall/winter. But it is sold and closed - all the contents sold at auction or donated to charity and though he did not get near what he wanted for it (it's built right next to a big box mart, so it's like prison break lights on the back of the house at night) it's enough to pay for 3 years care without my having to tap into my retirement savings. I'm sad that there were so many things of my late brothers I couldn't bring here as we just have zero wall space or storage left in our little Bungalow in Chicago but I shipped home by UPS some of my Mom's cookware, crystal, and glassware that she loved as well as some of my brother's Navy submarine memorabilia and my Dad's WWII Uniform. There was so MUCH stuff after living there for 70 years, you can only imagine how much work it was for all involved.
The cleanout of the house could not have happened without the help of my cousin Liz and her partner Keith, and Rod, our late Pastor's son, who also was the Realtor.
Seeing the home empty of all my memories made me cry but it's such a weight off my shoulders now that this is done and Dad has enough money for several more years care without our financial help. Living 5 hours away by plane has not made it easy but I totally get that Dad wanted to stay in the home as long as he could and in his home town until he is called Home to our Lord.
I am glad I still have lots of photos like this one back in the 90's of my childhood playhouse. My Dad and Uncle Richard (who was an engineer at Boeing and my Mom's little brother) built that in the mid 60's and my brother and I spent many happy hours playing in it.
We're glad things worked out with the sale, and you can never sell your memories!
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteI know that the relief will outweigh the grief of parting from this home. Glad you had backup for all the sorting out - and the triggered memories. YAM xx
Good news, best to all.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping in, and for your kind words. It was a tough month.
DeleteThat is one tough part of that journey. Our Dad had to go through that too and it wasn't easy. Happy Valentine's Day from all of us and thanks for joining the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.
ReplyDeleteThank YOU Brian for being a friend.
DeleteMoving forward in life is so hard. What a blessing that your dad was 98 when he had to leave his home.
ReplyDeleteCare for him in the home was not cheap but we were blessed with good jobs when needed to help. But that I am very thankful.
DeleteAs difficult and heartbreaking the whole experience must have been, we are glad the house sold and you had such wonderful help in completing all the work. Hugs to you. All the best to your Dad.
ReplyDeleteMom has your poppyseed chicken in the oven for tonight - we hope we get a taste.
Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!!!
Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber
Sometimes these forced clear outs and the sacrifice of memories is for the best, even if they are so very heartbreaking at the time. We feel for you, but are pleased that it has now all happened and you can move on for yourself and your father.
ReplyDeleteGentle purrs to all this Valentines Day
ERin
Thank you Erin for your kind words. I am happy to move forward and Dad is very happy in his Assisted Living with his new big screen TV and several friends from his church of 60 years living there.
DeleteYour loving actions will provide additional care to your dad's spirit. Bless you all.
ReplyDeleteI had this to deal with for my mother when she moved here to TN, and later had to go into a nursing home due to a broken hip. We found out that Tenncare (medicare in TN) would pay for the nursing home as long as she had no more than $1000 to her name, which was the case. Maybe something to check into in IL once the house money is getting low. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. Dad is in Washington State, not Illinois. His monthly Air Force Pension exceeeds the max $750 a month income that would qualify him for assisted living aid (which even if he GOT is only 1/3 the cost.) He has enough to live there until he is 102. Housing is so expensive in Washington that even his old and very modest home sold for a quarter of a million.
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