Good-Bye, House
So much has happened since we sold the house in April 2016. Our new owners were generous to let us stay here until the end of June, rent-free. This gave us time to sell the rest of the furniture, pack up the items that went into the crate and to pack up the remaining items we were taking with us in suitcases to Italy.
It is now Wednesday, June 29, 2016. This is the last full day in our house. Thursday afternoon, we will say “good-bye” and then head over to my former college roommates, Eve Fine and Ken Schneck’s house for our last 10 days in Madison. Today, as we were going from room to room to make sure we have everything we need to take with us in our four major suitcases, we had to smile when we saw the “father/son bonding” in our basement. In 1989, we had to pour some new cement in various parts of the basement. Larry and our son, Nathan (who was 2 years old at the time), made hand prints to “cement” their bond with each other! We will always remember the occasion.
Before we went around the house one last time, we gathered the rocks we had received at a wedding some years ago. These rocks were special to us as they had our names on them. We also had another rock from 1997 we had saved from a short trip the three of us (Larry, Nathan and I) had taken to western Wisconsin where we had attended a Norwegian festival.
Instead of taking these rocks with us to Italy, we thought it would be more appropriate to keep them here. Searching for the best spot to put them, we placed them in a little nook and cranny in the garden wall in our back yard. We had spent many hours developing and maintaining our gardens over the last 28 years, so keeping them in the garden seemed ideal.
Now it was time to take the final walk-through of our house. If you are familiar with the children’s storybook, “Goodnight, Moon,” then you will appreciate our experience as we said, “good-bye, living room; good-bye, kitchen; good-bye, back porch; etc.” It is with mixed emotion as we leave the place we called home for the last 28 years. We loved our neighborhood and have wonderful memories. We leave with a sense of peace and comfort, knowing we will always be welcomed whenever we come back to visit.
Here are some photos from the last day in our house.
Welcome to the new homeowners, Laura Hanson Schlachter and Jake Schlachter. We have enjoyed getting to know them these past few months, and we wish them much fun and happiness over the years to come!!
