"You Can't Go Home Again" - Thomas Wolfe

You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it's all right. ~Maya Angelou

Back in February, when Dad got out of the hospital one time. He and I sat down and talked. I've mentioned it before. He told me a variety of things, but one of them was that he thought mom and I should sell the house in Wadesville and buy a condo or something in town and live together. I just sort of assumed that that's what would happen.

Mom and I have discussed it. With the current tax break to first time homeowners (and I would qualify) and the fact that it supposedly is a buyers market, it seemed like maybe this was the time to proceed. Now, I'm not going to say that we've looked hard. The house I grew up in has big rooms, a big backyard, a lot of peace and quiet. I drive around town seeing houses for sale that are so small and right up against its neighbor. Mom has a house full of stuff and I have an apartment full of stuff and collectively we have three cats which are NOT going to want to be close to each other, so a larger, roomier place is going to be necessary.

Mom knew that one of my main reasons for thinking condo was not having to be responsible for yardwork and house maintenance. I admit it, I'm generally lazy. I don't like to sweat or get dirty. I praise God for inventing air-conditioning and I firmly believe in taking advantage of His creation! So Monday, Labor Day, Mom and I went out to dinner at the new Feed Mill Restaurant in Poseyville. We talked about a variety of things, centering on Dad. There were tears, of course, and at one point we got to the topic of living plans and she pointed out that since the house is paid for, if I moved back home, I wouldn't be paying rent; and if I'm not paying rent, I can save up enough money that we could afford to hire someone to take care of the yard and other such things. It was like a lightning bolt hit me. DUH!

I've always been the type of person that I can make certain decisions easily. When I know what feels right, I go with it. What's the point of shilly-shallying? It just hit me that this was the right decision. I even talked it over with Dad on the drive back into the apartment. Mom doesn't want to leave her home.

Mom pointed out that I've been on my own now for 14+ years. Would I be able to handle moving back home. I told her that as long as she understood that the satellite dish and a black cat that sheds like nobody's business and yacks up the occasional hairballs come with me, and that I'm not a good housekeeper, and I am grumpy in the mornings and sometimes I might come home and grunt at her and then hide away on the computer/Facebook (Farm Town Rocks!) with the TV and my cats and not talk to her because I've had to talk to too many people and had too many people wanting too much from me all day and I just need some quiet, sane alone time, then I could handle moving back home.

So once I make a decision, I'm ready to make a plan and put it into action. So the first step of the grand plan is that Mom is going to move from the larger front bedroom where she's been sleeping for the past couple of years into the back bedroom where Dad had been sleeping and where had been their combined room for years before that. Then there's the extraneous furniture, including an organ (if anyone is interested), that needs to be sold or given away. Once the front bedroom is empty we'll have the 40-year old carpet taken up and replaced with something from this century. Meanwhile, mom will be taking her desk from the front room and moving her geneaology research into the computer room. Then I can start taking things out to Wadesville. Maybe if we keep our momentum going, we can get this all done by the end of the year. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it?

Anyway, long blog short, anyone want to help me move?