The History of our home
The Story:
Upon his return from the War, my grandfather and grandmother married. Once married, they received some assistance from the government to build a home. Along with other veterans in the community, they helped one another (the veterans) construct each others homes. My grandfather along with his allied veteran friends, built the home and as a result my grandparents decided to start a family.
The result of starting a family was the birth of my mother and uncle. My mother was raised in this home and lived there for around twenty years. When my mother met my father and married, she obviously moved out and started her own family. My grandfather, grandmother, and uncle all lived in the home in harmony until the late 1970's when tragedy struck our family.
In the Spring of 1978, my grandfather suffered a massive heart attack while working on a project in the garage at this home. Our family lost my grandfather at what today's standards would be considered a young age. I never met my Grandfather as I was born after his passing, however one day I hope to meet him (and my other grandfather who passed away before my birth) in the great place in the sky. This loss left only my grandmother and uncle living in the house. My uncle lived with my Grandmother up until the late 1990s when he moved out.
I spent many days as a child coming to this home and visiting with my grandma and uncle. My family and I lived roughly about 40 minutes away, so we would frequently visit for many occasions. Many hours were spent at this home with my older siblings playing wiffle ball, Nintendo, boardgames, and so many other childhood activities.
All was fine on the home front for my grandmother until she began developing health problems in her latter years. In the early 2000s, she developed many issues with her legs, knees, and ankles that hindered many of the things that she used to do and was no longer capable of doing. Simple tasks such as walking downstairs to do the laundry or cooking herself a meal became too burdensome.
Foreseeing problems in the future, my mother started to take action. My grandma grew up in the era of the Great Depression and was very private about her finances. She thought my mother didn't need to know about her "business." Finally, my grandmother relinquished her habits and allowed my mother to help her with her finances and the estate of the property. My mother became her power of attorney and basically took over all responsibility of her needs. During this period, my grandmother's physical health continued to decline, and our family hired a home nurse to check on her once or twice a week on days that my mother couldn't come to help. The home aid would help with cooking meals, cleaning, and other household duties.
In early 2004, my grandmother complained of even further pain in her legs and knees, and my mother elected to take her for another visit to the doctor. On one afternoon, my mother picked my grandmother up at her home, and at the time, none of us knew that this would be the last time my grandmother ever was at her home again. The doctor recommended placing my grandmother in the hospital for two weeks, then after that, three months or so in a assisted living home. The belief was that once she recovered from her physical problems, she could go back home and live her life normally. Unfortunately, her mind did not agree with this time table. The early signs of Alzheimer's disease were setting in and every day that passed, her mental state became increasingly worse.
By 2005, it was apparent that grandma was never going to return to her home. She was upgraded from living in an assisted living community to needing a full service nursing home. Her home had sat empty for nearly a year and was going on almost two years of not having a tenant. At the time, I was still living at home with my parents, working and starting my coursework towards a Master's Degree, trying to save money while my then fiancee, now wife, rented a small one bedroom apartment.
At this time, my fiancee's apartment was burglarized and she really did not feel safe about being alone in her apartment. She spent more time staying with me at my parent's house than she did living in her apartment after the burglary. My mother, knowing we needed a change in our life as we had been looking at houses to buy and she had a house on the market, offered to let us stay in my grandma's house. In December 2005, my fiancee and I moved into my grandmother's home. In return for the favor, we agreed to pay all of the bills and utilities and keep basic upkeep of the house without forcing her into parting with the home while my grandma is still alive.
Today, my wife and I, married in September of 2006, live in my grandmother's home with my mother's consent. I am the third generation of my family to live in the house my grandfather built with his own bare hands. Presently, my grandmother is living her days in a nursing facility nearby. She no longer has function of her legs and is completely confined to a wheel chair. Mentally, she has good and bad days. Sometimes she can be as sharp as anyone else, but on other days she may not know who or where she is. My mother is waiting to determine the right time to sell the house, because it may need to be sold in order to pay for the costs of keeping my grandmother in the nursing facility.
This is the story of the home my wife and I live in. This is our very first home together as a newly married couple.
