We Were Here

“Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there any more.”
― Robin Hobb

Yesterday, I had a meeting at an attorney’s office.  It is a meeting I have been dreading for some time, yet necessary.  Yesterday, I signed

all paperwork required of the sellers for the closing of my mother’s house.

My mother passed away in April after a long illness.  I served as her primary caregiver.  With the help of family members and Hospice and Community Care of Rock Hill, my mother enjoyed living her final years in her own home.  If you would like to read about our special time spent during her last 2 1/2 years, you can view that blog post here.

When I mention selling her house, it is so much more than that!  The house, located in Tega Cay, SC, is the house she, my father, my brother and I moved into forty-seven years ago.  The house was brand new when we moved there.  We made the house a home.

There are so many memories contained in the house and the yard surrounding it.  The residence was a place to celebrate and enjoy during good times and a haven during more trying times.

It took me about two months to get the house ready to go on the market.  Handling all of my mother’s belongings and deciding the best places for each item was an emotionally difficult, labor-intensive,  yet strangely healing process.  I learned things while cleaning out that I didn’t already know.

When cleaning out Mom’s office, I found this behind her wall calendar.  These random holes in the wall each represent one year of life’s joys and sorrows while living there.

Once the house was under contract, I needed a way to say goodbye to the house.  I looked through old pictures and got the idea to photograph these images in the exact locations in the house or yard where they were taken.  I wanted to fill the now empty house with those precious memories.

These were some of my favorites from the project.  If you would like to view the entire gallery of images, you can do that here.

The photographs brought back such wonderful memories.  I am so thankful to have all of these physical photographs that I could hold in my hand as I held the memories in my heart.

About a month ago, my son, Jeremy, and daughter-in-law, Abi gave me this gorgeous watercolor home portrait painted by Brooke Cremmins of Greenville, SC.  They even asked the artist to include my mother’s cat in the portrait.  This painting brings me great joy.

It is difficult to believe that I will never be inside this house again.  Yesterday, I did one last  “walk-through” to say my final goodbyes.  Now is a time to remember the past lovingly, be in the present, and look forward to creating more memories in the future.

Wishing the new family all of the best as they make this house their home!