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The
house is not a mansion, but it??™s a nice place to live. Made
of coral brick, trimmed with white shutters and white
wrought iron banisters, the ranch-type house still looks
new, although it was built in 1970. It nestles among
towering oak trees that surround it. A little over ten
acres of woods and lawn encompass the house.
Originally, an old, two-storied farmhouse stood in front of
where the brick house is now. In those days, the back
acreage and woods were fenced, enclosing an ???outhouse??? and
barn. A Black Angus/Jersey cow claimed that part of the
estate. She held various persons hostage in the outhouse
during those years; how long at a time depended upon how
soon ???Boss??? tired of the game. Cantankerous and moody
notwithstanding, Boss gave the richest milk that produced
the best cream and butter.
The
setting is spectacular in the spring. Over a period of many
years, more trees, shrubs and flowers were planted. A row
of five perfectly matched Bradford Pear trees lines the
graveled driveway. They have grown so tall and spread so
wide that their branches now touch. Scattered in no
particular pattern throughout the grounds are Red Bud trees
of various age and heights. They bloom at the same time
as the pear trees, just as lacy new green begins to show on
the maples and oaks.
For
years, people have driven by the grounds just to see the
lovely colors in the spring. During one period of time, a
large rectangular garden held hundreds of irises that looked
like a field of orchids. Every color and variety imaginable
thrived there. Eventually they were removed, and a
strawberry patch took their place.
Behind the house, a peony bed, bordered with climbing red
and yellow roses, blooms around the first of June. The
fragrance is almost heady. Bleeding heart,
lily-of-the-valley, violets, pansies and tulips grow in
borders and along the foundations of outbuildings.
Window-high hydrangeas, in lovely shades of blue, grow along
the north side of the house. A three-stemmed White Birch
shields bird feeders from sun and north winds.
At
the age of eighty-eight, my mother-in-law maintained every
inch of her estate, mowing the sloping lawn, trimming
low-hanging limbs, caring for the dozens of trees and plants
that she and her husband had planted together over a period
of fifty-four years. After he died, when she was
eighty-three, she took care of her domain alone. She loved
her home, second only to her children and grandchildren.
She never grew tired of planting living things, just so she
could watch them grow.
Two
months before her death, my mother-in-law fell in her house
and broke her left wrist and elbow. A stabilizing devise
was attached to her arm, and she could no longer drive her
white 1997 Mercury. More than any material possession, she
treasured her independence. She always said that she wanted
to be buried with her car and her ???pocketbook.??? She was
grateful that I changed the dressing on her arm every day,
and she was grateful for the help that her grandchildren
offered, as well. She hated that it had to be that way.
After
two months of dealing with that aggravating device, I took
her to her doctor and asked if it could be removed. He
ordered x-rays on the spot, and the removed the metal piece
that very afternoon. My mother-in-law was thrilled beyond
description. She thanked me all the way home. I know what
she was thinking: She would be driving to Wal Mart just as
quickly as possible! Unfortunately, three days later, she
died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage, without ever driving
her car again.
We
went through all the trauma and sadness that any sudden
death causes, regardless of the age of the deceased. After
the division of her possessions, according to her wishes,
the remainder of her household furnishings were sold at
auction. It was another heart-wrenching process. Watching
people go through Grandma??™s things was one of the most
difficult things to get through.
My
husband bought the house from his sister, as part of the
estate settlement. None of us could stand the thought of
???strangers??? owning Grandma??™s house, but it took a lot of
time to maintain the property. Just keeping the extensive
lawn mowed every week in the summer was quite a task. A
year after Grandma died, the house was rented by a retired
couple; but they moved to Florida after a few months. In
time, keeping her house became too much for my husband. He
felt that he had to check on the property morning and night.
Beautiful as it is, that lawn takes hours to mow and trim.
It was a hard decision, but he finally decided to sell it.
Many
people looked at the place. For some, the house was too
big, for others, too small, too much lawn, etc., etc. One
spring afternoon, when all the trees were a riotous,
colorful array of blossoms, my husband was mowing the lawn
at his mother??™s house. A car drove slowly by, turned around
and drove back, and stopped in the driveway. A young couple
with two children, an eight-year-old boy and a
ten-year-old-girl, exited the car.
Negotiations began on the spot. A couple of weeks later,
they and my husband came to an agreement; and the young
couple owned Grandma??™s house. They are in their early
thirties, and they love their new home. The children have
already climbed every tree that is accessible, and a new
fence encloses an area for their pet lambs. The young woman
is having a dishwasher installed in the kitchen, something
Grandma didn??™t want.
They
are making the house and grounds their own, planting new
trees and making plans to install water in the big barn
???Well, this is the first day I haven??™t checked on Mother??™s
house since before she died. That place has been a part of
my life since I was thirteen years old, when we moved into
the old house. I almost wish I hadn??™t sold it.??? My husband
sounded near tears. It was May 1st, the day he
officially turned the property over to the new owners. I
touched his hand.
???Honey, I am so thrilled that your mom??™s house will again be
filled with love and laughter and children. During the last
several years, it was filled with illness and death and
dying. It??™s time. It??™s time to let go. Your mother
poured her heart into her home, and the young woman inside
it now is going to do the same thing. It??™s a wonderful
continuity of life, passed from your mother to her. She
would be so pleased with your choice. I know that
she would. In fact, I think that she is pleased!
She has left a legacy of dreams that will continue through
this young couple and their children, on to the next
generation of grandchildren.???
???You
think so???? he asked.
???I
know it!??? I told him. He smiled at me.
???I
believe you??™re right,??? he said.
???Aren??™t I always???? I reminded him.
He
hugged me, and I could swear that I heard his mother
chuckle.
~Barbara
Elliott Carpenter
The
award-winning author and poet has written other pieces about
her mother-in-law, the woman who was a major part of her
life for close to fifty years. Carpenter??™s second novel, in
a series of three, will be released this summer. The third
is scheduled for release in 2006. Starlight, Starbright??¦,
Wish I May, Wish I Might??¦ and The Wish I
Wish Tonight are a continuing family saga, covering post
World War II to the present day. The first one is
available at franchised bookstores and online at borders.com,
barnes&noble.com and amazon.com. The author can be
reached through her website:
www.barbaraelliottcarpenter.com
or her email:
bjlogger2@aol.com
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