Cleaning out my Grandpa's apartment...

What a weekend!

We packed up the kids Friday after school and made the trek to Egypt, aka, Elbow Lake, to visit my parents. (Adam calls it Egypt because he thinks that 2 1/2-3 hours is too long of a drive.)

We had a 'mission' to accomplish during this visit and that was to help pack and move all my Grandpa's belonging's from his apartment and put them into storage. My Grandpa recently moved into the Vetran's Home in Fergus Falls. With his eyesight getting worse, he knew it was time to go when a spot was available.

I have to admit, I didn't think it was going to be that bad. But, after arriving there Friday night, I realized we had our work cut out for us. We met my parents at the apartment, just to see what we were up against for Saturday. Let's just say we couldn't see the floor. My parents had done a great job of giving us a good 'head start' by having worked on it days in advance, but boy there was still a lot to do. You'd be amazed at what they had crammed into that tiny apartment. The funny thing is, when my Grandma was still alive and living there, the place was perfectly set up, spotless and not a hint of the mass amount of stuff that was actually in that place.

After giving the place a once-over, we went to my parents to see their newly remodeled kitchen. WOW, did it ever look nice. I'm so happy for them to finally have the counter and cupboard space they need and have always wanted. It looks great and will look even better when the walls are painted. The kitchen is so much more functional now and very newly updated with the brand new sink and black speckled counter tops. It looks fabulous.

The thing I learned during this process, was that my Great-Grandma Helen (Grandpa Dick's Mom) and my Grandma Louise, were hoarders, but in a good way. In fact, despite all the work it is to pack it and move it, I thank them for keeping the things they did. We stayed up til at least midnight looking through family heirlooms that they'd hung onto for years. Some were such random things, that made me wonder why it hadn't been thrown away long ago. But, I'm glad that they weren't. We have letters that were hand written by my Great-Grandfather to his sons (my Grandpa) that were off fighting in the war. We have diaries, journals and address books that my Great-Grandmother and her sisters and my Grandma kept. They'd keep small calendar's and write a small statement each day. It was either about the weather, who came to visit, if someone was sick..ect. I think about all the journals and notes that I've written over the years and wonder if some day they'll be as interesting to read. Also, in this big box of letters and books were clothing that was either made by my Great-Grandma and Great-Aunts or clothing that they had worn as children. There was a little sweater that was worn by my Grandpa when he was a baby. It was so old and so little. We found my Great-Uncle Jule's stockings and shoes, each made with hand made stitches and more than likely sewn by their mothers. The shoes were so detailed with buttons. I wonder again, all the clothes that I've saved that my kids wore when they were born, all bought from a store, will they be as interesting to my great-great-grandkids some day? Oh, and the pictures. All the hundreds of thousands of pictures. My Grandma when she was a baby, absolutely adorable. I see resemblance in my own kids. We are so blessed to have all of these pieces of our family history, to touch and see with our own eyes. But, the question is, what do we do with it all? Store it back in a box for me and my brothers to go through when my parents die? There is just too much to display, but I feel like it all deserves a place.

On Saturday we all went back over to Grandpa's apartment. We had a later start than I anticipated, but we made up for it by how hard we worked. The gals (Mom, Courtney, Alexa, Lillian and I) were the packers and the guys (Dad, Tiny and Adam) were the movers. We had our piles, the 'keep', 'throw' and 'sell'. Courtney and I started on the den, so the guys could move the 400 lb. fire proof safe out of there. I have to say, even though we worked fast and had to remain focused on the task at hand, it was hard. Going through my Grandpa and Grandma's belongings, things that they had kept for a reason, things they used. And we were picking through it wondering why they had that or whatever in the world they used that for. Could I use this? Would someone want to buy this? Why did they have this here or there? It was so awkward, sad. My Grandma's treasures, her old paint sets. Did she have intentions to use them again? Each item had to be gone through and looked at. Was it something important to us? Oh, the memories that flood our minds looking at all the stuff they had. In the den was a small colorful bag and inside were little trinkets from either McDonalds, something Grandma picked up at a parade, or found in my Grandpa's cereal boxes. My dad opened up the bag and asked me if I knew what it was for and after looking at the small treasures inside, I knew instantly what it was for. For Christmas we'd all sit around the table and play Bingo and the winners got to pick a prize off the tray of treats my Grandma had. There was always a 'mystery' prize, too, that was hidden inside a little box. And part of the game was that we could take prizes from people that had already won rather than the tray. Well, my Grandma, before she got sick, was already preparing for us to come play Bingo at Christmas, by collecting little toys and treats for the prize tray. We found that that year, the 'mystery' prize would have been a small snow globe with a little snowman inside. Alexa took it and put it in her bag of treasures we told her she could have. We will never know who should be the rightful owner of the 'mystery' prize, but I know that Alexa will treasure it forever.

We continued working and packing and throwing, making paths for the guys to carry out the big stuff. We cleared out the den and worked on the living room all before lunch. We took a break at around 12:30 and went over to my Grandma Katie and Grandpa Carroll's for lunch. The table was set and food was ready, so we were able to dish up, eat and run again to keep working.

Alexa and Lillian were such great helpers through the whole entire process. They didn't know if we were coming or going or where, but they went with the flow in good spirits. I couldn't have asked for them to be any better. Alexa helped tape boxes and label them. Her and Lillian both helped us carry things and move them around, they helped wrap dishes in newspaper and entertained us along the way.

We worked until about 4, before going home to clean up and drive to Fergus to take my Grandpa out for Chinese at our favorite buffet, Hunan's. On the way there, I told my Mom I was so excited to see Grandpa and be able to talk to him about what he's been up to, because he's been up to stuff. He's been so active at the home. He's gone bowling, ice fishing (think fish pond)and walks and talks to all sorts of people. He's been dancing and has played Bingo. I could tell right away when I saw him that there was something different about him. He looked happy.

We had such a great visit at dinner. I ate way too much, to the point of being uncomfortable. I was anxious to go see his new 'home' for myself. I'd heard so many great things about it from my parents, but now it was time I see for myself. Grandpa was proud to show us, too. I could tell. He walked us down to his room. He has such a nice room. For now he is by himself, but eventually he will move into a room with a roommate. We were all amazed how non-nursing home it looked and felt in there. It didn't smell funny, it wasn't depressing, it was SO clean and welcoming, the nurses and staff were all smiles (and genuine smiles they were). It looked and felt more like a really nice hotel, than a nursing home. He had a big bag of M & M's that he had received as a gift and had some tucked in his pocket. He asked Alexa and Lillian to come take a look to see if there was a surprise in there. They both reached inside for their M & M treats. Cute! Grandpa gave us the grand tour, walking the whole way without a cane or his walker. It seemed like he had a little skip to his step as he was showing us around. We could tell that he was really happy there. At least 2 nurses stopped what they were doing to either talk to Grandpa or us, which shows me that he is very well taken care of, cared for and cared about. The place is huge. It has an east and a west wing and they are adding on. They have an unbelievable courtyard outside in the middle of the building and I can tell that it's unbelievable with piles and piles of snow, so I can only imagine how nice it is out there in the spring and summer. Grandpa said he is looking forward to taking his walks outside. I have a feeling it's going to be our favorite place to visit. The girls will love all the pretty flowers, and they said Grandpa can even have his own tomato plant out there. We sat in a little room at the end of a hallway where the was a table and chairs and some big overstuffed chairs and big windows. We all sat comfortably and had room to move. It was so homey in there, like sitting in your own living room. It was all decorated nice, too. Grandpa talked steady. It was great. He was happy. When it was time to say goodbye, we walked him back to his room and it wasn't sad or depressing leaving him there. He had a smile on his face even as we walked out the door.

We drove straight to his apartment again after leaving Fergus. There was still a lot to do and I wasn't happy with how we left things. We were able to go through the kitchen and get another couple loads of boxes packed. Adam and Tiny have to make a competition out of everything they do, so it was constantly them harassing us for not being quick enough for them getting boxes packed and us not doing near as much work as them, ect..ect..ect. At the time it was frustrating, because we were working so hard. We packed SO much stuff into very few boxes and went through each and every thing, sorted it, labeled it and what not. Just because we didn't have 3 truck loads ready for them at all times, doesn't mean we weren't working hard. PLUS, we had Alexa and Lillian to occupy! They also thought their only use was for moving and hauling. So, as my Mom and I were going through the dishes and cleaning out the kitchen, watching Adam and Tiny lay on the floor and listening to them tell us to hurry up, was a little nerve-racking. Lillian was tired and on my hip - so I broke down and yelled at Tiny to PLAY WITH HER. He looked at me with a KNIFE in his hand and in ALL SERIOUSNESS said...'What do you mean, I have been playing with her. She handed me this (showing me the knife) and we played with it". We were so tired and sweaty that instead of freaking out on him, we broke out into laughter, like uncontrollable belly wrenching laughter. He was so serious when he said it, too. I looked at him and said, "Do you realize how WRONG that is? Remind me to never have you watch my children ever again". Ugh! It broke the tension to say the least. They finally got the point and got up and helped us box things up.

We got up for church Sunday morning and enjoyed a nice pancake breakfast afterwards provided by the youth group. But, it was back to work we went. We had a few more loads and some more packing to do before I was satisfied leaving back to Farmington. Everybody pitched in and we were able to get so much done, so much more than I thought we would. I was satisfied and I hope my parents were, too. BUT, as much as we got done and helped with Grandpa's stuff, we felt like we took 2 steps back at my parents house. When we returned to pick up Chip, he had ripped up the carpet in my old bedroom, trying to get out the door. As awful as Adam and I felt, we discovered that the floor underneath is beautiful hard wood. We offered to come back, clean up the room, take the carpet out, make the floors nice and paint the walls. Gee, thanks Chip!

We took off back home mid afternoon. Lillian fell asleep right away and slept almost the whole way. Alexa talked steady. Adam kept asking why she doesn't sleep in the car any more. We decided that since it was Valentine's Day and we had such a long weekend and the girls were such good helpers that we'd take them out to eat when we got back home. We brought Chip back to the house, unloaded the car and then went to Perkins. We sat in a corner booth in the way back of the restaurant and enjoyed the wonderful meal with just 'us'. The girls were so good and Adam and I were so happy. We are so thankful for each other. We just had such a great time. We got back home, put pj's on and all together laid in a pile of blankets and pillows on the living room floor and all fell asleep watching the Olympics.

The weekend overall was bittersweet. It was hard having to make the decisions to 'sell' my grandparents things, things that they treasured enough to keep. My parents kept a lot of things and despite Adam saying how hard it was to feel comfortable taking their stuff we thought we could use, we took an awful lot, too. Adam took things for the garage and stuff he thought would be useful to us, flashlights, stools, step ladder, extention cords. I took things I could use, too, but some things I took because they were my Grandma's. Things that I just couldn't bring myself to sell, or throw. I miss her, and I feel like if I surround myself with her treasures and things she used every day, she would always be with me and I would have constant reminders of her. Her dishes, her jewlery, her table linens, her buttons and thread, her paintings, her apron..ect..ect..ect.

At a certain point I just had to pretend like that these things didn't belong to my grandparents...the process would have been impossible if I didn't. There are already things that I'm looking back on that I want to dig out of storage before we have the big sale this summer.
(Insert my Dad rolling his eyes here).