Saying Goodbye

It's amazing where I find myself after 12 months. Looking back, there have been highs and lows filled with intense sadness and incredible joy. In 12 months, we received Maggie's referral and brought her back home. I discovered I was pregnant and gave birth to an adorable little boy. It has also been a year since an uncle drowned leaving behind my grandmother's old home and several acres. I had hoped that my mother and her siblings would find a way to keep it in the family. It was one of the last "living" things that I felt connected all of us to my grandmother Rose. In March, my mother and her siblings decided to sell the homestead and I had an afternoon to say goodbye. It was tough.

Jack and Liam

The old barn. Grandpa and Grandma had dairy cows.

I once interviewed Grandma about the depression and asked her how they survived the hard times. She answered that they didn't know they were living through a depression. They always relied on the farm for their living. They ate what they grew. If times were considered tough, well, they were used to it.

A side porch.

Grandpa eventually built grandma a home just a ways up the road from their old house. I used to sneak down to the old place and play with the farm kitties on those porch steps.

My aunt Arline, mom, Matthew and the two oldest.

Looking out an old window with Liam. Lovin' the old wall paper.

Climbing the stairs to the two bedrooms. The boys' bedroom was open but the girls' bedroom had a door.

If this tie could talk.

I loved the woodwork in the home. I love old homes. They're my favorite things to see when I go on vacation. I've always said that if I built a home with hardwood floors I would find a way to make them creak.