207 singer road

I said goodbye to a house this week.

 Kitchen door, whereupon you will most likely hear, "Hi! I didn't see you drive in!"

Mimi's house for over half a century; good old 207 Singer Road, New Freedom, PA 17331.

 This living room held both a piano and an organ for many years. ;)

It's one of the few addresses I have memorized because it's the only one that's stayed constant my entire life.

 Climbed this tree so many times. It's weirdly the same size.

My grandparents moved in 57 years ago, right before my mom was born.

 And there's been a looooot of life there ever since.

Mom and Pappap before her prom. Classic Gunne Sax.

Three kids, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

 Pretty sure there's a baby in that contraption in the middle. Is that me? 

Or wait! Is that me over Mimi's knees?! What is happening?

 The best driveway to ride down. 

You had to be careful and steer around the corner.

And even though the timing is right, and I'm so excited for Mimi to move on to a cute and manageable cottage close to friends and close to us, this little piece of earth meant a lot to me and I'm going to miss it.

 Queen of the Castle, right here.

 

 Mom, Aunt Lori, and their cousin - Fiona and Jaina

It's been a long time since I've said a "forever goodbye". It was weirdly familiar even though it was just for a house. You want to act normal and have fun in your last moments together. You take a lot of pictures and make jokes, but all the while "Nevermore" is hanging in your head.

 Pappap's shed

 I always thought that glass doorknob to the garage was magical.

A long time ago there were bunk beds in this office, 

and one night I begged and begged to sleep underneath of them for some reason. 

Mom said no, but in the middle of the night I fell off the top bunk.

And instead of crying or calling for anyone I rolled under the bed and slept there the rest of the night. 

True story.

We've actually gotten to take quite a few pieces of this house to our home. Mimi's table and chairs now sit in our dining room, and the piano takes center stage in the living room. I have Mimi's lifetime stockpile of sewing supplies, and Zach has a few of Pappap's meticulously organized tool drawers.

Maple "helicopters" are so much fun.

I'm always gonna struggle with this concept of home. Just when I think my priorities are lining up another cord severs, and I realize just how earth-bound I still am. Ouch. I really liked that anchoring point. The roots ran deep. Can we get anymore metaphors in there? ;)

How many Easter egg hunts have we done around this house? 

Pappap would always keep a list of where he hid each one to be sure we found them all.

There are a few places around the world where I've left pieces of my heart. The city streets of Hong Kong, painted all over Chiang Mai, Thailand, it beats in Dimnent Chapel at Hope College, and now Singer Road, New Freedom.

As we pulled out, Jaina yelled, "Goodbye, Mimi's house!" And I'm so glad she did, cause I couldn't.

Groovy paneling in the basement

Thank you, Mimi for always making your house a home. Thanks for all the overnights, the Thanksgiving dinners, and allllllll the Goldfish. Thanks for letting me live with you and Pappap for a year after college. In a world that was always changing 207 meant a lot.