My parents bought nine acres of land a few miles outside of New Ulm before they got married in 1972. Once they were hitched, they moved into a trailer home on the property. They raised sheep for many years, and also had cows from time to time.
In 1976, they built a house on the land and lived there until this past October. My grandpas and some of my uncles and other friends helped them build the house, and I know my dad was always very proud of the work they did.
I don’t remember the trailer home at all, just the house. That was my home growing up, and I have many fond memories of it. I had three different bedrooms over the years as they kept adding sisters to the mix. Once I moved out for good, it became a comforting place to visit. Like many college kids, I didn’t come home very often after my first summer of school, though I didn’t move everything out until I got my job in New Richland.
I loved roaming the pasture and the woods behind the house as a youngster. Now, everything seems so much smaller, but that might be because I’ve not only seen myself and my sisters grow up there, but now my kids have also been around as they have grown up and moved on to college.
Mom and Dad finally moved into a house in New Ulm. We kids had been suggesting, pushing, and cajoling for a few years on this matter. Dad’s mobility has lessened, and it’s harder for them to keep up around the place. Winters had become especially difficult with moving snow.
They finally got serious over the past year. My parents looked at a lot of different houses. Some needed work, which isn’t something two people in their 70s want to worry about. Others didn’t have anywhere for Dad to putter around in, which he needs to stay busy. Some were way more than they wanted to pay.
The thing is that when they bought those nine acres all those years ago, Dad said it cost $19,000. Any prices these days will be startling when you compare them to that amount! I think they paid a pretty good price in today’s market for their new place, but it’s still quite a bit of difference.
So as we traveled the normal path to New Ulm for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we took a slightly different route once we got there. Instead of driving all the way through town like usual, we now headed down Broadway and then took a couple turns to their new home.
It felt…different. We were at Mom and Dad’s place, but it didn’t feel like we were. Sure, there were the old couch and loveseat and dining room table and chairs. There were the plates and cups.
But it didn’t feel like their place.
Dad had an especially hard time with moving. You get very invested in the house you built. You live there for nearly five decades. And then you don’t.
I wonder if there have been times they’ve headed home from somewhere in town and started up 5th North Street toward the old place before realizing that’s not their home anymore.
Michelle asked me once how I felt about them moving out of the only house I’d really known. I thought about it for a little bit and decided it wasn’t that big a deal. This was the right thing to do for my parents. I haven’t lived at home since the mid-1990’s. Sure, I have an emotional attachment to the house, but we’ve got our own house that we’ve made our own. The house in Ellendale is my home now.
But after spending a couple of holidays in a new place, it did hit me a bit. Being with family at the holidays is so important to me, and we still were, but it felt…different. We still had turkey at Thanksgiving and Reuben sandwiches on Christmas. But it wasn’t quite the same.
I often say that I’ve got one or two moves left. One is the funeral home and the other is if my kids need to place me somewhere if I need assistance. Michelle and I have a house that’s a Goldilocks house: not too big, not too small, but just right. I can’t see downsizing. And I know I’d face sticker shock, just like my parents did. We bought our house in 1999, and prices have changed a titch since then.
I’ll get more comfortable every time I go to New Ulm to visit. Will I ever consider it home, though? That’s still to be determined. Mom and Dad might be there, but my memories are still about three miles away.
The good news is that my youngest sister and her husband are going to buy the acreage and house! So if I really need a dose of memory at some point, I won’t have to awkwardly drive in and out of some stranger’s driveway!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is Grangousier, which means a big eater, as in, “With all the food arrayed before him at the holidays, he instantly turned into a Grangousier.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!