I wish my mom's were sold. She's been with me a year, and her significant other doesn't want to move. I'm in the process now of pushing him hard to buy the place. It'll get done, or he'll be moving shortly.
Congratulations. I know it's bitter sweet, but it's one less responsibility for family's shoulders.
Been there, done that, feel for you. One of the worst things I ever had to do. Take pix, save an appropriate amount of sentimental junk, have a good cry or two or three...
It helped me a little to focus on the family moving in who would be happy there, and how the house didn't need to stand empty like a monument to my parents' life or mine, but "needed" to be reborn by having people to be living in it again.
Pam you are right, it will never look the same. Every now and then whenever I am in upstate New York I will drive down the city street where I grew up, lived there for 20 years.... but over time the street changed a lot, all those wonderful big trees are now gone which changes the dynamics of the street for some strange reason.... maybe because the houses are now out in the open.
I see my former house but with ever new owner there had been exterior changes. Every now and then I will put my address into Google search to see if the house had been currently For Sale, that way I could see interior photos.
Perhaps you can try to remember that it's really just a house made of building materisl, etc., and that the memories you have were created by the people who lived there. You take those memories with you and will have them for the rest of your life. someone once suggested that to me and I found it very helpful.
My husband will be going through that soon enough. His mother had the house built in 1955, I think, and he lived there growing up. He moved out of the area in 1978, but always went back for family events. Not much has changed in the house or the neighborhood since he was a kid.
Perhaps you can hope that the happy memories you shared in that house will likely be created by the new owners. Maybe your family's presence helped the house become more than a house - a home which will now accommodate a new family that will enjoy and treasure the home as much as your family did.
I was thinking of the house where we lived when I was a child, how I can still remember the configuration of both floors, the placement of furniture in the rooms, the houses on both sides of the street, the neighbors and of course the garden.
The house has long since been demolished as the city underwent a drastic transformation well after we moved. It's now a vacant lot. But I can still see that house and its interior in my mind. And I'll never forget it.
Congrats! I agree to take plenty of pictures in and out, even video if possible. See even if you can be in some of those pics. Thats my plan for my grandfathers too, he has had it since 1950's. Good luck to you and your family.
Be glad you sold it before she passed away. Trying to sell a house in probate is a nightmare. I am going through this right now along with the buyer. Even with a will specifying me as Executor and giving me the authority to sell it, the probate court is taking their sweet time filing the necessary forms.
Congratulations. I know it's bitter sweet, but it's one less responsibility for family's shoulders.
It helped me a little to focus on the family moving in who would be happy there, and how the house didn't need to stand empty like a monument to my parents' life or mine, but "needed" to be reborn by having people to be living in it again.
I see my former house but with ever new owner there had been exterior changes. Every now and then I will put my address into Google search to see if the house had been currently For Sale, that way I could see interior photos.
I was thinking of the house where we lived when I was a child, how I can still remember the configuration of both floors, the placement of furniture in the rooms, the houses on both sides of the street, the neighbors and of course the garden.
The house has long since been demolished as the city underwent a drastic transformation well after we moved. It's now a vacant lot. But I can still see that house and its interior in my mind. And I'll never forget it.