The End of an Era

With some grunting and cursing we were able to remove Dad's shutters from the windows and prep them for removal. Of course they cannot have any fasteners still attached and they were of course hung on the walls using three foot long monster nails. More cursing was involved, I hope the neighbors didn't hear.

We then took some time to take a bit of a break. We planted ourselves in the chairs around the table as we have done a million times before, took a collective deep breath and said ... Nothing.

We took in the scene around us, though there had been changes it was still at it's heart Dad's kitchen. 

 

 We had sat here on countless occasions talking of subjects both important and mundane. And then the stories began to come. We sat and remembered holidays in this room, Dad attempting to advise Laura on exactly how to properly cook a turkey. Christmas presents, political discussions, jokes, card games, pizza, and wasted hours just spent in glorious conversation.

We spoke of the stories Dad told of his days in the Army or when he was at college. We talked about the numerous times we talked about cars, right at this very table. His Healey, the MG, his first new Volvo and the time the Chevy got sandblasted in a dust storm on the way back from California.

We laughed about how Dad and I sounded so much alike on the telephone and how some people had made the mistake of assuming they were speaking to one of us when in reality...

We talked about all the times there were family around this table and the love that was focused here when that happened, even though it wasn't frequent.

We talked of the strength and support we had received at this table over the years when Dad put on his Dad hat and made us both feel that no matter what we were safe and loved and secure as long as he was here to have a word about it. And I finally talked about how, at this very table, Dad told me that he felt I had been dealt a bad hand work wise and how proud he was of me that I had kept at it despite the obstacles others put in my way. I was gobsmacked.

Then we talked about change and about how this room though it wasn't exactly Dad's kitchen any longer was still going to be a place of welcome and love and support and that Dad would be happy to have a seat a new table and to share in our new memories. That was an important part of the conversation as it allowed me to move to this next step with less hesitation.

You see the next day a team of guys from a donation site came to help us with...

And now it looks like this...

 

 

 

It's the same throughout the rest of the house now. There is little left to remove but most of the demo work that we could do has been completed. But alas still no contractor as of this moment. So while we wait to build new memories, we are also waiting to build a new home. Sigh.